As we celebrate our 125th year, I want to briefly look back at the year 1893. In the United Kingdom, the first issue of the Police Review and Parade Gossip Magazine was published and would run until 2011. In South Africa, Mahatma Gandhi’s first act of civil disobedience occurred. In the United States, Lizzie Borden was acquitted for the 1892 murders of her parents. In Georgia, the first state anti-lynching statute was approved. In May of that year, the Chicago World’s Fair would begin.

The first meeting of the National Chiefs of Police Union, which would later become the IACP, also took place in Chicago in May 1893, with the goal of forming a national police organization. Just 51 chiefs attended.

It was noted by one of the attendees “that there is no sort of cooperation between the municipal police departments” and that the lack of participation was due to the great mistrust and rivalry among the police departments at the time.

After that meeting, the founding members determined that it was important to break down those barriers and create an organization that would bring the policing profession together.

Over the course of the following 125 years, the IACP has developed and fostered that spirit of cooperation. With more than 30,000 members in 152 countries, the IACP has been with its members through every success and challenge that the profession has faced.

The Next 125 Years

Over the last year, I have given a lot of thought as to what I would like to accomplish as president with respect to the responsibilities that IACP and its collective leadership have to our members, our citizens, our communities, and our respective countries.

The IACP works tirelessly to create programs and best practices to support this profession and the people we serve around the globe. Currently, our members worldwide are facing unrelenting issues that are being “played out” on our streets and in our communities.

One of my goals this year is to develop a platform focused on creating safer communities, with a concentration on bringing sexual and gender-based violence to the forefront of law enforcement concerns.

I want to reflect on the riches of our organization—the resources, the substantive depth and breadth of our voice, our continuing legacy, and our ability to shape the policing profession.

We are very fortunate to be stewards of an organization so rich with history and so rich with promise—and as President John F. Kennedy so eloquently stated, “To those whom much is given, much is expected.”

While we have worked hard for the last 125 years to be the standard-bearer for policing leaders around the globe, it is our obligation to expect more from ourselves—to lead, to strive, and to help.

IACP Foundation

I am proud to announce this evening a new effort and a new focus. The IACP Foundation—which has done much good in the last quarter of a century—will enter its next chapter. In addition to recommitting to the important work it already does in helping injured officers, we will refine the IACP Foundation’s efforts to serve as the philanthropic, giving arm of the IACP, focused on creating safer communities. This platform will provide a forum for planned giving and for sponsor investment in the overall concept of community safety through educational and outreach programs collaboratively designed by law enforcement and community partners, while maintaining the integrity of the IACP brand and maximizing important ongoing initiatives like efforts underway within the Institute for Community-Police Relations, to include the TRUST Initiative and the new #WeAreTheVoice program.

Response to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

In addition, as police executives, we must consciously continue to enhance our response to sexual and gender-based violence to be in line with promising practices rooted in research regarding the impact of trauma on victims. Effective partnerships and collaboration must be developed or strengthened to best support victims of sexual and gender-based crimes. We need to renew our dedication to addressing this pandemic.

Over the past decades, the IACP has introduced a number of initiatives on sexual and gender-based crimes. Under our Safer Communities platform, we will work to encompass these program, as well as spearhead new initiatives to work with both victims and community stakeholders in a time where believing is essential and support is critical.

Membership Growth

My next goal for the coming year is growing the membership of the IACP, with special attention to increasing our international footprint.

I am asking every member to join me in the Plus 1 campaign. We are asking each member to recruit a colleague to join our association. This type of growth will positively enrich the resources available to our members while promoting the IACP.

Today, with members in 152 countries, the IACP is recognized for advancing leadership and professionalism in policing worldwide. However, to remain relevant in today’s increasingly complex policing environment, the need for continuous improvement is the only constant. Advancements in digital technologies, increases in international travel and migration, and the deepening of integrated multinational economies necessitate that the IACP enhance its global presence and influence.

I am committed to increasing the IACP’s international footprint by leveraging the voice of international police leaders to inform public policy, professionalize police leadership, and improve IACP member services. As a first step, I will be launching a review of the Global Policing Division, which comprises exceptional police executives from around the globe, to ensure it is well positioned to tackle the complexities of 21st century policing, to inform the IACP’s strategic framework and direction, and to make a meaningful contribution to progressive police leadership.

Reframing the Culture of Policing

Throughout the world, law enforcement leaders, community member groups, criminal justice partners, survivors of violence, and others are engaging in substantial efforts to improve the culture of policing.

Updating and reframing our current systems means demonstrating legitimacy and building and strengthening trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities we serve and protect, along with the express goal of recruiting new international members while growing our presence in the countries in which IACP already has members.

Law enforcement leaders must commit to ensuring safe communities, and we must act to build the membership of this vital organization.

This is a call to action to each and every one of you.

You have tasked us with the authority and trust to aid and be your leaders for this association, but we cannot do it alone. Just as you have empowered this board to lead, we are empowering you to make your voices heard. We need you to keep the scorecard on what works, what doesn’t, and what changes you want to see.

I am honored to serve you as president of the IACP, excited about this upcoming year, and humbled to stand side-by-side with you on this journey. Enjoy the ride!d

Please cite as

Paul M. Cell, “The Year Ahead,” President’s Message, Police Chief 85, no. 11 (2018): 6–7.