Given the overwhelming requests, the call for papers for IACP 2012 has been extended by one week. The Call for Papers Workshop Proposal System will remain open until 12:00 midnight, eastern standard time, on Wednesday, February 29, 2012.

IACP members and nonmembers may submit their ideas, suggestions, or presentations for IACP 2012. The content should be educational information that will benefit police leaders throughout the world and connect them to solutions to the issues they are facing.

Educational sessions are conducted in a variety of settings, including track workshops, learning laboratories, poster sessions, and the Innovation Theatre. Please review each educational setting and select the one best suited for your presentation.

You can submit proposals online at the conference website. Instructions and submission tips are available here.

IACP 2012 will be in San Diego, California, September 29-October 3, 2012, at the San Diego Convention Center.

Walter A. McNeil, President, IACP

There has been a terrific development for the public safety community. As part of the payroll tax extension compromise, a deal has been reached on D-Block that includes

• D-Block allocation for public safety,
• funding ($7 billion) for a build-out of a nationwide public safety broadband network,
• a good governance structure, and
• preservation of the 700 megahertz narrowband mission-critical voice spectrum.

Congress approved the legislation today, and President Obama announced he will sign the legislation as soon as it reaches his desk.

As you know, the IACP has been working with the first responder community as part of the Public Safety Alliance for years to realize passage of this critical legislation. This is one of my top priorities as president of the IACP, and I am very pleased with this latest action.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t publicly thank Chief Harlin McEwen. Harlin has made this issue his life’s work, and there is no one who has worked harder for the IACP on this issue than Harlin. Please join me in thanking Harlin for his efforts.

Want to learn more about D-Block? Watch this.

In a few short weeks, police leaders will meet in Alexandria, Virginia, where they will share information and explore the challenging and timely topics of homeland security, drug interdiction, highway safety, and leadership.

This meeting marks the midyear event for the IACP Division of State and Provincial (S&P) Police. On March 28-30, the S&P Midyear Meeting will gather individuals from 49 state police and highway patrol agencies in the United States and 3 Canadian provincial police forces: the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Ontario Provincial Police, and the Sureté du Québec.

All events related to the S&P Midyear will be held at the Hilton Alexandria Old Town. A block of rooms has been reserved, starting at $224/night for a single room.

To make your hotel reservations, go directly to the reserved room block. The block closes on Wednesday, February 22.

To register for the conference, fill out the registration form. Forms must be received no later than Thursday, March 1.

If you have any questions or require more information, please email Shannon Bui at the IACP.

I look forward to seeing you in March.

March is midyear time at the IACP!

Members of the IACP Division of State Associations of Chiefs of Police (SACOP) gather twice a year to discuss issues pertinent to local law enforcement, state police, and federal partners. One of these annual meetings is called the SACOP Midyear Meeting, and it is scheduled for March 24-26 at the Hilton Alexandria Old Town in Alexandria, Virginia. The meeting is open to members of SACOP, who can register by clicking here.

(The other meeting is at the annual IACP conference–this year, in San Diego!).

On alternating years, the SACOP Midyear Meeting includes a Day on the Hill for SACOP members and the Division of State and Provincial Police members (more on “S&P” in next week’s blog entry). This trip to Capitol Hill gives our law enforcement leaders the opportunity to communicate to Congress about issues important to advancing the law enforcement community. This year, the Day on the Hill is scheduled for Tuesday, March 27. Registration is available here.

At the SACOP Midyear Meeting that’s just over a month away, SACOP members have a full agenda. They will consider the following, among a wide variety of other issues:

• Building a policy platform for the Smaller Department Section
• SafeShield’s overarching message of officer safety and wellness
• Regional issues of local law enforcement
• Training for law enforcement
• Discussion platforms for critical issues

If you have any questions or require more information, please email Nuyiri Kasbarian at the IACP.

I am looking forward to seeing many of you in March!

But would anyone really object if we had the conference in, say, a sought-after location with abundant sunshine, a sparkling ocean, and world-class tourist attractions?

We didn’t think so.

San Diego, California, has always been a popular spot for the annual IACP conference. As we prepare for IACP 2012, September 29-October 3, in San Diego, it’s important to note that there’s plenty for you to do during nonworking hours at the conference.

For example,

• the airport is downtown,
• the city is extremely walkable,
• there are a wide variety of hotels with a range of rates (IACP housing reservations open May 9!),
• there’s excellent dining for all tastes,
• the convention center is centrally located,
• Petco Park (go Padres!), Seaport Village, and the Gaslamp Quarter are all right there,
• and the weather is fantastic.

We are already counting down to the conference! See you in a short 240 days.

IACP 2011 was no different. This past October in Chicago, Illinois, conference attendees packed workshop rooms every day of the conference, as early as 8 a.m.–Starbucks coffees in hand–to see what their colleagues, government officials, and thought leaders had to share about best practices in improving operations and transforming police leadership techniques in the 21st century.

Here are the 12 most popular IACP 2011 workshops, based on attendance and in no particular order:

The terrorist threat facing the United States has evolved significantly in the last ten years, and it continues to evolve. The main threat now emanates from within the borders of the United States in the form of the Homegrown Violent Extremists (HGVEs).

HGVEs will not be detected by the intelligence community and the U.S. Department of Defense because of the lack of international travel and the lack of communication with persons overseas. HGVEs will be detected by state, local, and tribal (SLT) police in their everyday interactions with the public.

IACP leadership attended a meeting at the White House, during which they provided insight on how the Obama administration’s recently released Strategic Implementation Plan for Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States can be implemented locally.

The chiefs and state police colonels representing the IACP at the White House meeting agreed with the administration’s plan that empowering SLT partners is integral to protecting communities against violent extremists, and efforts should build upon existing local partnerships; on information-driven, community-based solutions; and on community-oriented policing strategies.

IACP leadership expressed concern about the reduction in funding for law enforcement prevention funds and proposed the following to the administration:

• Ensure that 25 percent of available funds are still dedicated to the Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program (LETPP) and that the LETPP be reinstated as a standalone program. The LETPP is the only funding source that is dedicated solely to terrorism prevention and to meeting law enforcement’s unique mission to detect and prevent future terrorist attacks.
• Eligible LETPP activities should be more narrowly defined to fund critical law enforcement programs such as state and major urban area fusion centers; implementation of the Nationwide SAR Initiative; implementation of countering violent extremism efforts, including the training of personnel to understand, recognize, and respond to preoperational activity and other crimes that are precursors or indicators of terrorist activity; and the development and implementation of community engagement programs to support identification and mitigation of such potential threats.

This approach reflects a commitment to SLT law enforcement, ensuring the prevention of terrorism is the highest priority of the Department of Homeland Security, and also reflects the commitment to SLT law enforcement partners in ensuring they are fully engaged as partners in dealing with homegrown threats.

If your company has already bought a booth in the IACP 2012 exhibit hall, you have evidently embraced why doing so is essential. For those who have not, time and space are not on your side, so act quickly!

As of today, the exhibit hall is 76 percent sold out with a wide range of products, from uniforms and weapons to command vehicles and helicopters. IACP employees in the conference department recently announced that

• the Personal Equipment and Forensic/Investigation Pavilions are officially sold out;
• only a few booths remain vacant in the Communications/IT Pavilion; and
• the following pavilions have limited availability: Weapons & Tactical/Protective Equipment, Vehicle/Vehicle Accessories, and Administration & Training.

The exhibit hall floor plan offers companies the opportunities to select where they would like to be located and how large they would like their booths to be.

Learn more about exhibiting–and the perks included in the rental of a booth space–on the IACP conference website. Alternatively, you may email IACP Exhibit Coordinator Tarrie Chambers.

See you in San Diego!