Guest blogger: Eric Daigle, Attorney, Daigle Law Group, LLC, Connecticut

The IACP Legal Officers Section is dedicated to addressing, identifying, and analyzing legal issues that affect the daily operation of law enforcement agencies. The Legal Officer Section is comprised of Legal Advisors from across the country who are responsible for advising police executives regarding matters of law.

I have been a member of the IACP Legal Officer Section for over a decade, and I have been honored to not only attend but also provide training at the various conferences.

As a member of the Legal Officer Section Executive Board, I have first-hand knowledge of the amount of effort expended to analyze industry concerns to present valuable and relevant training topics at the conference. I have always been impressed at the level of information provided at the IACP Conference, as well as the numerous networking opportunities. Police chiefs, command staff, and legal advisors typically attend these training programs because they recognize the significance of the information presented, and the value received from attending the IACP conference. An equally important aspect of the IACP training programs is the availability of networking opportunities with other law enforcement executives, who are experiencing similar issues in their departments. If you are a first time attendee, I would like to welcome you on behalf of the Legal Officer Section to an amazing training opportunity. The biggest challenge you will face is deciding which training programs to attend. My suggestion is to focus on training programs that support your job assignment, as well as programs that you find interesting. I suggest that you challenge yourself with topics with which you are not familiar. The goal of the Legal Officer Section is to expand your knowledge by providing you with updated law, procedures, and topics.

This year, the Legal Officer Section is proud to have an outstanding training track that will surely challenge your knowledge base. These topics include:

• Review of the President’s Task Force on 21^st Century Policing
• Supreme Court Update
• Use of Force Investigation – Policy, Practice, and Oversight
• Positional Asphyxia – Legal Issues
• Employment Law Update
• Body-Worn Cameras - Legal Issues and Implementation
• Negotiating Employment and Severance Agreements
• Police Response to Mental Illness
• Law and Liberty – Bill of Rights Guarantee

While there are many available conferences across the country, there is not one that has more to offer an attendee to meet your needs. While training is important, education is also important. We hope to educate you on current trends and common practice standards in the industry and to better prepare you for the scrutiny you may face on a daily basis. I encourage you to let the Legal Officer Section make you more effective in your goal to develop constitutional-based policing in your department.

For more information about the Legal Officers Section Track and other educational opportunities at IACP 2015, visit the official conference website.