Serving as your president has provided me with great insight into the workings of our association and a true appreciation for the reasons for its success. Were you to serve on the Board of Officers, you would quickly be reminded that the strength of the IACP comes from you, the membership, and very definitely from the hard work and dedication of the staff at the IACP headquarters. It is therefore fitting that we honor the people who really do the work as we reflect on our activities and accomplishments during the past year. Given the size of our staff, we cannot name them individually here, but suffice it to say that everything we do to accomplish the mission of the IACP is dependent upon the skill, energy, and dedication of our members and especially our staff.

We could accomplish practically nothing without them, nor could the IACP achieve its mission without the active participation of its membership.

Throughout this year, the IACP has continued its tradition of leadership in the law enforcement profession, providing law enforcement executives with the tools, information, and programs that they need to succeed. And from a business perspective, you have every reason to be proud of the record of accountability and fiscal integrity of the IACP. We would like to draw your attention to just a few highlights of this year and urge you to visit www.theiacp.org for information on the numerous other projects under way at the IACP.

Legislative Affairs

This year, the IACP has fought hard to ensure that the views and the expertise of the law enforcement executive community were heard on a number of critically important legislative issues, including efforts to restore funding for law enforcement programs and to block onerous, mandatory collective-bargaining legislation.

This spring, the IACP held a successful Day on the Hill event in Washington, D.C., where IACP members had the opportunity to meet with their elected officials on issues of importance to the law enforcement community. We are pleased to report that the response to this event was very positive and enabled the IACP to continue to work with leaders in Washington to make sure the needs of the law enforcement community are met.

It is clear that the IACP is truly fulfilling its role as the “professional voice” of law enforcement.

Projects and Policy Documents

The IACP also kept the membership updated about the current issues confronting policing through numerous projects and summits, as well as the release of numerous policy documents. These include the following:

• Report on the IACP National Summit on Intelligence: Gathering, Sharing, Analysis and Use after 9/11: Measuring Success and Setting Future Goals
• Enhancing Law Enforcement Response to Victims: A 21st Century Strategy
• The Role of State and Provincial Law Enforcement Agencies in a Post–9/11 Era
• IACP Best Practices Guide: Recruitment, Retention, and Turnover in Law Enforcement

In addition, the IACP has made significant progress in how we prepare our officers to deal with the mentally ill.

Late last year, the IACP partnered with the National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health to host a discussion with police leaders, school resource officers, children’s mental health advocates, family members of children with mental health concerns, and representatives from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration about methods of promoting safety and good communication to prevent injury and trauma to families, children, youths, and police officers who respond to crisis calls.

Planning is well under way for the IACP’s National Policy Summit on Police Response to Persons with Mental Illness. The IACP will be sponsoring this summit with support from the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance; the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association; and the JEHT Foundation. This summit is scheduled to be held in early 2009.

International Programs

On the international front, the IACP held its 25th European Executive Policing Conference in Istanbul, Turkey, and its seventh South American Executive Policing Conference in Curitiba, Brazil.

In the coming months, we will also be holding the IACP’s first Middle East/North Africa Executive Policing Conference in Doha, Qatar, and the association’s 10th Asia Pacific Executive Policing Conference in Taipei, Taiwan.

Acknowledging the Support of Many

Clearly, this has been a remarkably busy and productive year for the IACP. If you have the opportunity to encounter members of the IACP staff, please take a moment to thank them for their dedication and support. Everyone needs a pat on the back once in a while, and our staff is truly deserving of recognition.

Looking to the future, the work described here continues, and there is much more to be done. The membership has a crucial role in helping to identify and address the emerging issues in our profession, particularly through the work of our standing committees. If you are interested in serving on an IACP committee, please contact that committee’s chair.

Finally, no one can serve successfully in an IACP leadership capacity without the support of family, colleagues, and certainly one’s home jurisdiction. They must share and believe in the value of service for the greater good for this partnership to work. It has been a profound privilege to represent the citizens of Oregon, and particularly the city of Sherwood, during this year as president. Above all and over a long career in policing, my wife, Ann, our family, and our friends have been a constant source of love and support. One can only cling to the hope that he has been half as supportive in return.

My participation in, support of, and service to the IACP will continue in the years ahead. ■