The COPS Office was honored to attend the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) 126th Annual Conference and Exposition from October 26–29 in Chicago, Illinois. Weren’t able to visit the COPS Office booth this year? Check out the recap below for all of our highlights.

Ahead of this year’s official IACP conference, the COPS Office got an early start by attending meetings of the National Consortium on Preventing Law Enforcement Suicide October 24–25. The purpose of these meetings was to identify actionable suicide prevention steps for law enforcement. This is a priority for the COPS Office year-round, and you can find a (completely free) library of resources on the topic of Officer Safety and Wellness at the COPS Office website, designed to help agencies better look after the physical safety and mental wellness of their officers.

Pre-IACP

On October 25, COPS Office Director Phil Keith also attended the fall meeting of the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies (ASCIA), where he spoke in-depth about law enforcement resources. It was a busy day for Director Keith, as he also addressed the Executive Boards of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Officers (NOBLE) and the IACP on current COPS Office resources.

Let the Games Begin!

The IACP conference commenced on October 26. The three-day event was packed with workshops and discussions with law enforcement leadership and subject matter experts from all over the country. During the conference, COPS Office staff moderated panels and led presentations about community policing and resources, in collaboration with law enforcement agencies, foundations, and nonprofit organizations.

The panel topics ranged from the Collaborative Reform Initiative Technical Assistance Center (CRI-TAC), to the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA), to the National Blue Alert Network. COPS Office staff were instrumental in educating IACP attendees about all aspects of community policing and the resources available.

Director Keith also attended discussions of education and training for law enforcement, crime prevention strategies, gang suppression resources, drugs, officer safety and wellness, where he presented on COPS Office grants and resources to help these efforts. If you would like to learn more information about these topics specifically, or community policing in general, visit the COPS Office website.

Booth 2558 Was the Place to Be

Our staff and IACP attendees had a lot of fun with the COPS Office booth this year. Our booth was stocked with free community policing resources, information about the COPS Training Portal (which offers no-cost, on-demand trainings), and interactive training demos presented in collaboration with the Virginia Center for Policing Innovation. Our booth even attracted some K-9 visitors who, unsurprisingly, took a particular liking to our Animal Cruelty as a Gateway Crime publication—and walked away with some treats as a reward for their hard work as community policing officers.

Ending the Weekend with Brand New Resources

Over the weekend, the COPS Office released four new publications on the most successful proactive methods for improving public safety. IACP conference attendees were the first to get to these important resources, but you can access them completely free at the following links:

• How to Start a Law Enforcement Family Support Group: Insights and Considerations
• Law Enforcement Best Practices: Lessons Learned from the Field
• The Arlington Restaurant Initiative: A Nightlife Policing Strategy to Improve Safety and Economic Viability
• Less-Lethal Weaponry, Post-Traumatic Stress, and their Impact on Officer Safety and Wellness: Emerging Issues and Recommendations

To learn more the COPS Office’s publications, written by trailblazers in the field, visit our Recent Releases page. We look forward to attending next year’s IACP conference, and to continuing to work on resources to support community policing in the meantime!

Shanza Bukhari
Managing Editor

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