In the mission to support the law enforcement leaders of today and develop the leaders of tomorrow, the IACP is constantly involved in advocacy, programs, research, and initiatives related to cutting-edge issues. This column keeps you up to date on IACP’s work to support our members and the field of law enforcement.

Enhancing Law Enforcement Response to Victims

IACP, in partnership with the Office of Victims of Crime (OVC), has developed a strategy to help law enforcement agencies improve their response to victims of crime. A strong focus is placed on promoting procedural justice and fairness in reaching underserved and unserved populations as identified in the community, such as immigrant victims, LGBTQ victims, sexual assault victims, victims of human trafficking, and many victims who often do not identify themselves as crime victims, such as young men and boys of color.

The strategy has been successfully tested at three pilot agencies, and the IACP has developed the Strategy Package to provide resources, tools, and guidance for agencies who are interested in implementing this updated strategy. The package includes four volumes: 21st Century Strategy, Implementation Guide, Resource Toolkit, and Training Supplemental. These are available online to all law enforcement agencies, free of charge.

To learn more about the new strategy or to access the Strategy Packet, visit www.responsetovictims.org.

IACP New Police Chief Mentoring Project

The IACP New Police Chief Mentoring Project is a cost-free professional development opportunity and includes complimentary resources to assist experienced and newer chiefs. This project matches experienced mentor chiefs with newer chiefs for three to six months of formal mentoring, supported by the Mentoring Project team. This is a valuable opportunity that helps to connect smaller and tribal police executives to meet the unique challenges they face.

Mentors work to guide newer chiefs to solutions to problems that will work in their respective jurisdictions. Mentors provide support and assistance in accessing available support systems and obtaining needed resources. Together they review and discuss problem areas, set goals, develop plans of action, and establish timelines for meeting the goals.

The Discover Policing Mentoring Center is the home of an online profile database, which allows current and future law enforcement professionals to search for mentors or mentees.

Learn more about the Mentoring Project at http://www.theiacp.org/Mentoring-Services or sign up as a mentor or mentee at http://mentorboard.jobtarget.com/dpo.

New Guidelines from IACP Police Psychological Services Section

The IACP Police Psychological Services Section recently released two newly revised sets of guidelines. IACP’s Psychological Services Section is made up of more than 200 psychologists and acts as a resource to the IACP on issues in assessment, counseling, consultation, and operational assistance.

The Psychological Fitness-for-Duty Evaluation Guidelines was developed to educate and inform public safety agencies and executives who request fitness-for-duty evaluations and the examiners who perform them. A psychological fitness-for-duty examination is a formal, specialized examination of an employee to determine whether the employee is able to safely and effectively perform his or her essential job functions.

Officer-Involved Shooting Guidelines provides recommendations to public safety agencies, executives, and those who provide mental health services to prepare for and respond to the health and well-being of law enforcement personnel following an officer-involved shooting. Many of the recommendations in these guidelines are applicable not only to officer-involved shootings, but also to other potentially distressing critical incidents.

These new guidelines, as well as several other psychological-related guideline documents, can be found at http://www.theiacp.org/psych_services_section.♦

For more information, contact Kim Kohlhepp, Staff Liaison at kohlheppk@theiacp.org.