By Joseph C. Carter

Chief Joseph Carter

he last 12 months have been both professionally and personally challenging, exciting, and very rewarding. The opportunity to serve as your president has been one of the highlights of my life and law enforcement career. Please accept my thanks not only for your support over the years but also for your continued loyal service to the International Association of Chiefs of Police and this honorable and noble profession.

I am proud that over the last year, the IACP has continued its long tradition of leadership in law enforcement by providing law enforcement executives with the tools, information, and programs that they need to succeed.

I would like to draw your attention to a few of the many highlights of this year and urge you to visit the www.theiacp.org for information on the numerous other projects on the move at the IACP.

Legislative Affairs

The IACP hit the ground running when the 110th U.S. Congress was sworn in. In December, we released our Law Enforcement Action Agenda for the new Congress. This document served as a road map for our elected officials, outlining the priority requirements of the U.S. law enforcement community. I am pleased to report that the response to this document was very positive, and the IACP has worked with leaders in Washington to make sure the needs of the law enforcement community are met.

During the past year, members of the IACP have testified on Capitol Hill on numerous occasions. Senators and members of the House of Representatives have sought our input on a variety of issues, including firearms, hate crimes, homeland security, and funding for law enforcement programs. It is clear that the IACP is truly fulfilling its role as the "professional voice" of law enforcement. These efforts have paid off, and I am pleased to announce that both the House and the Senate have approved funding levels for critical state, tribal, and local law enforcement assistance and homeland security programs that are substantially higher than funding in previous years. In addition, the IACP was instrumental in ensuring that legislation reauthorizing and reorganizing the Department of Homeland Security contained provisions that mandated that prevention efforts play a central role in the U.S. homeland security strategy.

Training

For more than 100 years, training has been a cornerstone of the IACP's efforts to improve and enhance the law enforcement profession. We are taking advantage of technology to provide our membership and the law enforcement profession with the services they have come to expect from the IACP.

I am pleased to announce that after an extensive and careful review process, the IACP has partnered with The Response Network to develop and host our first distance-learning portal. The IACP distance-learning portal will feature both assisted and nonassisted courses.

We intend to provide these courses at a low cost to guarantee that they are accessible to agencies of all sizes throughout the United States and the world. In addition, the use of online technology provides the IACP the flexibility to assess the needs of the law enforcement community on a continuing basis and to develop and deliver training programs that will be both timely and topical.

Projects and Policy Documents

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

• Leadership Guide to Civil Rights


• Police Chiefs Guide to Immigration Issues


• A Symbol of Fairness and Neutrality: Policing Diverse Communities in the 21st Century

Moreover, through our partnership with the Joyce Foundation, the IACP held a highly successful Great Lakes Summit on Firearm Violence that brought together a broad group of law enforcement executives; community leaders; and federal, state, and local policy makers to address the critical problem of gun violence.

Through our partnership with the Bank of America, the IACP is leading the way for the law enforcement profession to combat identity crime. The Web site, which aims at helping law enforcement and consumers, www.idsafety.org, has won the "Best in Class" Interactive Media Award. I encourage you to visit it for tips, news, information, and updates to help you combat this growing global menace.

International Programs

Internationally, the IACP held its 24th European Executive Policing Conference in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and its sixth South American Executive Policing Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In addition to these successful conferences, members of the IACP's leadership attended meetings with our counterparts in Great Britain, the Caribbean, Spain, Turkey, and Taiwan.

Planning is also well under way for the IACP's Global Policing Summit in June 2008 at INTERPOL's Headquarters in Lyon, France, which will focus on the policing challenges and threats posed by global terrorism and radicalization and the leadership challenges facing policing in the 21st century. This summit will provide the leadership of the international law enforcement community with the opportunity to unite and forge a new way forward for our profession.

Clearly, this has been a remarkably busy and productive year for the IACP. It has been my heartfelt honor and privilege to have the opportunity to lead this esteemed organization for the past year.

Finally, I want to express my deepest appreciation to professional colleagues, friends, the police professionals of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Transit Police Department, and, most importantly, my family. All of you have enabled me to walk this significant journey, take on this tremendous challenge, and experience it to the fullest. I look forward to continuing to serve the IACP in whatever capacity I can. ■

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