Adopted at the 122nd Annual Conference
Chicago, Illinois
October 2015

Requesting the Continued Support of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to Facilitate the Integration of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems into Law Enforcement Operations

Submitted by: Aviation Committee
AV.012.t15

WHEREAS, small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) have proven to be highly effective for law enforcement as a force multiplier, for search and rescue, crime and accident scene documentation, tactical and situational awareness, and support of fire and other public safety operations, and

WHEREAS, the IACP respects the rights of individuals and the U.S. Constitution, and

WHEREAS, agencies employing sUAS should engage the community to provide transparency and open the lines of communication on the use of the technology, and

WHEREAS, Section 333 of the FAA Authorization and Reform Act mandates that the FAA approve the use of sUAS by public safety agencies under the same conditions presently being approved for commercial operators, and

WHEREAS, the IACP has developed Guidelines and a Model Policy to provide guidance to agencies deploying sUAS, and

WHEREAS, the Federal Aviation Administration has recently engaged in efforts to facilitate the use of sUAS by commercial service providers in the National Airspace System (NAS) as mandated by the FAA Authorization and Reform Act of 2012, Section 333, and now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police requests the FAA to engage the Association and its partners, including the National Sheriffs' Association and Airborne Law Enforcement Association, to review the current approval process for public safety agencies and to develop a streamlined process consistent with Section 333 approvals available to commercial users.

Submitted by the Communications & Technology Committee
Co-Sponsored by the Computer Crime and Digital Evidence Committee and the Aviation Committee

WHEREAS the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) continues advocating for use of our Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN), using dedicated 700 MHz radio spectrum, passed by Congress, and President signing, Public Law 112-96 on February 22, 2012; and

WHEREAS the IACP continues to be a strong supporter and participant in implementation and progress of public safety with many agencies using the NPSBN now commonly referred to as FirstNet; and

WHEREAS the FirstNet NPSBN continues to leverage technologies to build public trust as an interoperability leader, providing value to members of IACP and the entire public safety community across America; and

WHEREAS cellular communications technology has evolved into 5th Generation (5G) technology advancing and expanding 4th Generation (4G) technologies, which offer greater possibilities for dealing with innovation like Next Generation 911 between caller, dispatch and first responder; and

WHEREAS it will be beneficial to public safety for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to allocate additional radio spectrum to current FirstNet spectrum to enable implementation of 5G technology in FirstNet’s NPSBN for prioritized public safety use; and

WHEREAS, 4.9 GHz radio spectrum, allocated by the FCC since 2002 as dedicated public safety spectrum and FCC continues deliberations for 4.9GHz future use, due to FCC’s expressed concerns of 4.9 GHz current underutilization by public safety; and

WHEREAS the IACP consistently supports these principles in those discussions:

1. The FCC must protect and preserve all 4.9 GHz spectrum for nationwide public safety use,
2. Incumbent public safety 4.9 GHz licensees must be protected,
3. The FCC should assign 4.9 GHz spectrum to a single nationwide licensee and band manager on behalf of public safety,
4. The FCC should leverage this very successful FirstNet experience and assign all nationwide 4.9 GHz license(s) to the FirstNet Authority to achieve a single nationwide license and band manager,
5. The band manager is held accountable by and is responsive to the needs of police through the development and maintenance of this network.

now therefore be it;

RESOLVED, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) supports these principles and will continue to participate in discussions to achieve a positive long-term public safety utilization for 4.9 GHz radio spectrum to better serve the public, and build public trust through disciplined increased public safety use and technologies.