IACP Law Enforcement Policy Center
For more than 30 years, the IACP Law Enforcement Policy Center has been identifying leading practices and providing sound guidance to the law enforcement profession to assist in developing policies for individual departments.
Policy Center Resources
The Policy Center offers four types of resources:
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Model Policy: Provides officers with concrete guidance and directives by describing, the manner in which actions, tasks, and operations are to be performed.
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Considerations: Intended to present items for agencies to take into account when developing their own policies on a topic. This format recognizes that expectations and capabilities vary by agency, and it aims to present recommendations to the law enforcement field without dictating exact approaches.
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Concepts and Issues: Designed to provide background information on the topic to support the Model Policy or Considerations document.
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Need to Know...: Synthesizes the key points of the topic into a brief, one-page overview.
Click here to visit the full list of Policy Center topics.
Featured Policy Center Resources
Standards of Conduct
Law enforcement officers must accept and abide by a high ethical and moral standard that is consistent with the rule of law they are sworn...
Employee Mental Health and Wellness
Personnel are the most valuable assets in a law enforcement agency. The documents provided are intended to assist agency personnel in developing policies, procedures, and guidelines...
Criminal Intelligence
Information gathering is a fundamental and essential element in the all-encompassing duties of any law enforcement agency. When acquired, information is used to prevent crime...
Pregnancy
A diverse police workforce is a valuable asset, and trained and experienced female police officers are critical resources. Pregnancy is a temporary physical condition, unique to...
Crowd Management
Civil disturbances and demonstrations have changed over the years, as have the tactics and techniques of law enforcement agencies called upon to manage and control...
Recruiting & Hiring
Hiring decisions are among the most impactful decisions a police agency can make. Agencies that want to build positive relationships with their communities, improve their public...
See how the COVID-19 Policy was Created
All Policy Center Resources
Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT)
This is a stand-alone document, unaccompanied by a model policy, designed to explore the primary issues surrounding special weapons and tactics (SWAT) teams. Following extensive...
Stalking
Responding to and investigating reports of stalking should involve gathering information that permits the victim’s circumstances to be considered in context with the behavior of the suspect...
Standards of Conduct
Law enforcement officers must accept and abide by a high ethical and moral standard that is consistent with the rule of law they are sworn...
Strikes and Labor Disputes
The parties involved in a labor dispute have rights as well as responsibilities. Strikers may assemble and demonstrate peacefully to bring attention to their cause...
Strip and Body Cavity Searches
Agencies should ensure that all officers are aware of the requirements, limitations, and procedures for strip and body cavity searches. Due to the potentially invasive...
Suicide Bombings
Police officers must be prepared for the potential of suicide bomber attacks. No policy can prescribe the precise actions that an officer must take in...
Surveillance
Surveillance operations are essential for criminal investigations and information collection required to develop intelligence. However, covert and clandestine methods may be neither appropriate nor necessary...
Suspicious Mail
The threat of attacks on individuals involving Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), especially chemical or biological agents, continues to be of significant concern. Law enforcement...
Technology
Technology advances rapidly in today's environment, and these technological advancements can help make policing more effective and more efficient. At the same time, new technology can also...
Temporary Light Duty
Temporary light-duty assignments, when available, should be for officers and other eligible personnel in an agency who, because of injury, illness or disability, are temporarily...
Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Individuals
Transportation of Prisoners
All prisoners should be treated in a humane manner and with due regard for their physical safety and protection consistent with sound principles of prisoner...
Unmanned Aircraft
Technological advances have allowed public safety agencies to consider the acquisition of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) to support their operations. The rapid integration of...
Use of Force
Vehicle Crash Review Process
Motor vehicle crashes involving agency vehicles present serious potential risks to agency personnel and the public as well as considerable financial loss due to injury...
Vehicular Pursuits
The primary mission and sworn duty of every law enforcement agency and officer is to protect and to serve the public. When determining whether to...
Victims of Crime*
As first responders, law enforcement personnel are uniquely positioned to provide trauma-informed care and support to victims of crime as required by law. These efforts can...
Volunteers
Volunteers can be a valuable addition to any law enforcement agency by providing a variety of services at little cost to the agency. They allow...
Written Directive System
Agencies should establish a written directive system in order to inform officers of what is expected of them in the performance of their duties, to provide guidance...
IACP Policy Center documents are periodically updated, and the most current versions are published to this website. To minimize confusion and to help ensure reference to the most recent documents available, the IACP Policy Center does not distribute prior versions of any documents that have since been updated.
