Submitted by: Private Sector Liaison Section

WHEREAS, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) supports efforts of the life safety, alarm, and electronic security industries, represented by the Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC) and Partnership for Priority Verified Alarm Response (PPVAR); and,

WHEREAS, IACP recognizes the importance of strong relationships between law enforcement and the private sector; and,

WHEREAS, IACP recognizes the importance of accurate timely communicated information to maximize officer safety and efficiency in the deployment of law enforcement resources; and,

WHEREAS, IACP acknowledges that correctly installed, operated and monitored electronic security systems are effective resources which help to deter crime, assist in apprehensions, reduce property loss and potentially save lives; and,

WHEREAS, IACP recognizes the need to focus on the credibility of alarms received by law enforcement/first responder call centers from alarm companies and private entities through the establishment of defined threat levels as contained in AVS-01, will allow for agencies to deploy limited resources efficiently and communicate situational information to responding officers for greater officer/community safety, is duly vetted and recommended by the Private Sector Liaison Section; and,

WHEREAS, IACP recognizes the need for and value of communicated threat levels as defined in AVS-01 to achieve the desired expectation of greater alarm recipient and officer safety as well as the ability to better manage resources as experienced by police agencies; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED that the IACP encourages the use of this ANSI/TMA-AVS-01 2023 Alarm Validation Scoring Standard at all PSAP/ECC operations by law enforcement agencies to further enhance safety and alarm call awareness for the responding officers.

Submitted by: Forensics Committee

Co-Sponsored by: Digital Evidence, Firearms, Police Investigative Operations, Arsons & Explosives, Roadway Safety, Narcotics & Dangerous Drugs

WHEREAS police professionals have a responsibility to advocate the critical role of forensic science service providers to recognize, collect, and analyze physical and digital evidence; and
interpret and report results to provide investigative leads and support legal proceedings; and

WHEREAS police professionals and forensic science service providers have independent but overlapping responsibilities; and

WHEREAS the process of developing, publishing, and implementing forensic science standards
have important implications for criminal justice, public health, and public safety communities;
and

WHEREAS forensic science standards enhance the validity, reliability, and impartiality of results
in all jurisdictions; and

WHEREAS a forensic science standard published by national or international standards
development organizations specifies minimum criteria or best practice recommendations using a consensus-based process; and

WHEREAS the National Institute of Standards and Technology established the Organization of
Scientific Area Committees Forensic Science Registry, a global repository of selected published and proposed standards; and

WHEREAS efforts to improve and standardize all forensic science services include development and implementation of standards; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED that the International Association of Chiefs of Police encourages policing agencies to collaborate with forensic science service providers, standards development organizations, and the Organization of Scientific Area Committees; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED that policing agencies should encourage all forensic science service
providers to implement and adhere, to the extent possible, to published forensic science standards.

Submitted by: IACP Drug Recognition Expert Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) 

WHEREAS, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (“IACP”) recognizes that drug-impaired driving constitutes a significant roadway safety problem; and 

WHEREAS, there is limited awareness that drugged drivers are less frequently detected, prosecuted, or referred to treatment when compared with alcohol impaired drivers; and 

WHEREAS, according to reports such as the U.S 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 13.6 million people drove under the influence of drugs in the U.S. (1); and the Canadian 2020 Police-Reported Crime Statistics show a 15.6% increase from 2019 to 2021 in the number of police reported drug-driving incidents (5); and

WHEREAS, an analysis of impaired driving laws indicates there is a lack of uniformity or consistency in how jurisdictions/political subdivisions deal with drugged drivers (2); and

WHEREAS, there is a need for national leadership in the U.S. and Canada to develop model statutes and to encourage jurisdictions to modify their laws to be more effective when dealing with impairing substances and/or drugs; and

WHEREAS, impaired driving data should differentiate between drugged driving and alcohol-impaired driving to better understand the impact of drugged driving, and

WHEREAS, traffic fatalities involving polysubstance use involving two or more impairing drugs in combination, with cannabis and alcohol being the most common combination, and which doubled from 2000 to 2018 in the U.S. (3); and

WHEREAS, according to the IACP Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) annual reports, from 2018 to 2022, approximately 41 percent of all drug influence evaluations conducted by DREs in the United States and Canada involved multiple drugs and/or substances (4); and 

WHEREAS, incidents of impaired driving involving impairing drugs combined with alcohol are up to 200 times more likely to cause a crash (5) and should therefore result in additional sanctions; be it

RESOLVED, that the IACP recommends all states, provinces, and territories adopt impaired driving laws to include any impairing substance and/or impairing drug and enact laws that create additional sanctions when a combination of impairing drugs and alcohol are involved in impaired driving incidents; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED that the IACP recommends all states, provinces, and territories support and encourage prosecutors to vigorously prosecute all offenders violating impaired driving laws including those offenses involving impairing substances and/or impairing drugs and any offenses when a combination of impairing drugs and alcohol are involved. 

1. NSDUH, https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2020-nsduh-detailed-tables
2. NHTSA, “2016 Digest of State Laws: Driving Under the Influence of Drugs”, DOT HS 812 468, Mar 2016
3. NHTSA, “Drug Impaired Driving”, https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drug-impaired 
4. IACP DRE Annual Reports, 2018 – 2022
5. Public Safety Canada, “Annual National Data Report to Inform Trends and Patterns in Drug-Impaired Driving”, 2022

Submitted by: Forensics Committee
Co-sponsored by: Police Investigative Operations Committee

WHEREAS the process of medicolegal death investigation has important implications for
criminal justice, public health, public safety communities; and

WHEREAS United States (US) medicolegal death investigation system structures (coroner and
medical examiner offices) vary by state, county, and city; and

WHEREAS law enforcement roles in medicolegal death investigation vary by state, county, and
city; and

WHEREAS the law enforcement and medicolegal death investigation systems have independent
but overlapping responsibilities; and

WHEREAS medicolegal death investigation officials are responsible for determining cause and
manner of death, and thereby responsible for identifying deaths which may be criminal in nature; and

WHEREAS medicolegal death investigation quality may hinder or aid law enforcement efforts to
investigate deaths that are criminal in nature; and

WHEREAS efforts to the improve and standardize US medicolegal death investigation includes
development of standards, certification of medicolegal death investigators, and accreditation of medicolegal death investigation offices; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED that the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) encourages all law enforcement agencies to facilitate cooperation and collaboration with their local medicolegal
death investigation systems in a manner that ensures the best possible outcome of all medicolegal death investigations, including criminal investigations; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED that law enforcement agencies should consider encouraging coroner and
medical examiner offices to have all medicolegal death investigators certified and all coroner
and medical examiner offices accredited in order to promote and support the highest possible
quality of medicolegal death investigation in all cities, counties, and states.

Submitted by: Police Professional Standards, Ethics, and Image Committee in partnership with the Community Policing Committee, the Human & Civil Rights Committee, and the Police Administration Committee

WHEREAS the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) supports efforts of professional policing agencies to advance the quality of the profession by establishing core tenets of a healthy culture1; and 

WHEREAS IACP, through its Strategic Plan, asserts that police agencies will have the trust and confidence of their communities2; and

WHEREAS IACP, through its Strategic Plan, asserts that the police profession will be more effective globally as a result of IACP efforts3; and

WHEREAS IACP established Bias-Free Policing, Leadership and Culture, and Community Relations as three of six key focus areas in the Trust Building Campaign4; and

WHEREAS IACP acknowledges that an exemplary policing culture leads to development and retention of high-quality peace officers and supports a core value of policing to protect the vulnerable from harm5; and

WHEREAS IACP recognizes that high-quality peace officers provide reliable and trustworthy community safety and service6; and

WHEREAS IACP recognizes that the erosion of positive culture can lead to compromises and lowering of standards, the loss of trusted community safety and service, and the subsequent loss of an agency’s efficacy7; and

WHEREAS IACP acknowledges that the lack of uniform basic tenets of positive culture leads to deleterious effects and disparities in character, performance, and service outcomes8, it recommends:

ELEMENTS OF POSITIVE POLICE CULTURE 9, 10, 11, 12

• a. Safety and service for all community members;
• b. Clear, acknowledged, and practiced expectations of professional conduct;
• c. Adherence and accountability to law, policy, and ethics;
• d. Leadership actions, communicated through a timeline and demonstrated throughout all levels of the organization, that are sustainable and align with organizational values;
• e. Collaborative engagement with community members, organizations, elected leaders, and peers;
• f. Bias-free and inclusive organizational and policing practices;
• g. Transparency to both internal and external stakeholders;
• h. Deliberate investment in the safety, development, and wellness of organizational members;
• i. Effective bilateral communication throughout the organization including soliciting and valuing input from all levels of the organization; and
• j. Continuous evaluation of the organizational climate to identify needed changes for a healthy police culture and for continuous improvement.

WHEREAS, IACP also acknowledges that agencies across a diverse and international profession may have organizational and regional perspectives on additional elements of a positive culture13; and

WHEREAS, IACP acknowledges agencies will differ in the delivery of leadership and policing services, and that the elements above provides a foundation to establish a consistent set of practices, principles, and purpose14; and

WHEREAS, IACP recognizes the need to focus and standardize public safety organizations’ core elements of positive culture; now, therefore, be it,

RESOLVED, that the IACP encourages the maturation of each agency’s core tenets of character and service, to advance the Quality of the Policing Culture.
___________________________________
1 International Association of Chiefs of Police, “About IACP,” accessed December 23, 2023, https://www.theiacp.org/about-iacp.

2 International Association of Chiefs of Police, "Strategic Plan." Business Document. (Alexandria, VA: IACP, 2023).

3 International Association of Chiefs of Police, "Strategic Plan." Business Document. (Alexandria, VA: IACP, 2023).

4 International Association of Chiefs of Police, “Trust Building Campaign,” accessed December 23, 2023, https://www.theiacp.org/iacp-trust-building-campaign.

5 International Association of Chiefs of Police, “IACP Resolution: Maintaining and Maturing the Quality of the Policing Culture,” accessed December 23, 2023, https://www.theiacp.org/sites/default/files/October_2023_IACP_Resolutions.pdf

6 International Association of Chiefs of Police, “IACP Resolution: Maintaining and Maturing the Quality of the Policing Culture,” accessed December 23, 2023, https://www.theiacp.org/sites/default/files/October_2023_IACP_Resolutions.pdf

7 International Association of Chiefs of Police, “IACP Resolution: Maintaining and Maturing the Quality of the Policing Culture,” accessed December 23, 2023, https://www.theiacp.org/sites/default/files/October_2023_IACP_Resolutions.pdf

8 Sue Rahr and Stephen K. Rice, “From Warriors to Guardians: Recommitting American Police Culture to Democratic Ideals,” New Perspectives in Policing Bulletin (Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, 2015).

9 Wesley G. Skogan and Kathleen Frydl, eds., Fairness and Effectiveness in Policing: The Evidence (Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2004).

10 Gary W. Cordner, Community Policing (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014).

11 Tom R. Tyler, “Enhancing Police Legitimacy,” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 593, no. 1 (2004): 84-99.

12 International Association of Chiefs of Police, “Bias-Free Policing”. Business Document. (Alexandria, VA: IACP, January 2021).

13 International Association of Chiefs of Police, "Strategic Plan." Business Document. (Alexandria, VA: IACP, 2023).

14 International Association of Chiefs of Police, "Strategic Plan." Business Document. (Alexandria, VA: IACP, 2023).

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.

When receiving or responding to a report of a missing child, officers should determine the level of risk associated with the missing child. The risk assessment will help determine the potential danger posed to the missing child and the type and urgency of police response required. The assessment should attempt to identify how the child went missing, why the child went missing, if the child has a disability, and whether there are any additional elevated risk factors to be considered.

A child who is missing or unidentified shall be considered at risk of danger and treated as such until sufficient information to the contrary is confirmed. 

The policing profession is dedicated to maintaining law and order, protecting the community, and ensuring community safety. An agency's duty to intervene policy aims to promote a culture that is rooted in public trust and maintains high standards of expected conduct. 

A more accountable and healthier agency can help to build community trust and aid in the shared public safety goals of the community and the agency. Preventing misconduct preserves job security and the integrity of all agency members, ultimately protecting officers from jeopardizing their careers as a result of misconduct or, in some instances, as a result of failure to intervene to prevent misconduct by others. 

Investigating stolen vehicles requires specialized knowledge, expertise, and access to various resources. A crucial aspect of these investigations is the process of removing a vehicle from stolen status once it has been recovered. This step is essential to prevent future complications for police officers who might mistakenly believe the vehicle is stolen.

One challenge in this process arises when the vehicle is no longer listed in the active NCIC Stolen Vehicle File and has been moved to a purged stolen vehicle classification.

This “Stolen Vehicles with a Purged Status Indicator” white paper clarifies what a purged stolen vehicle classification indicates, provides details for how police may be called to investigate these vehicles, and gives guidance for how police can request removal of the vehicle from this status. The white paper serves as a resource for police agencies and anyone responsible for investigating and clearing vehicles with a purged stolen vehicle classification and should supplement agency protocol and procedures.    

A Review of 2024 Mass Demonstrations at U.S. Academic Institutions

During the Spring of 2024, college and university campuses around the United States became focal points for mass demonstrations. Several instances brought national media attention to the complexities of public order policing generally, and on campus and crowd policing specifically.

To identify and understand lessons from these protests and apply them to preparations for future demonstration events, IACP and the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) convened police executives, university administrators, and civil rights leaders to share their perspectives about the demonstrations of 2024 and implications for the future

“Policing Campus Demonstrations” provides an overview of mass demonstrations, observations from the 2024 U.S. campus demonstrations, and considerations for both campus policing agencies and those agencies that may be called to support campuses during demonstrations.  Also included are recommendations and resources for policy, training, and applied tactics before, during, and after demonstrations.

This document is just one of several resources on Crowd Management and Civil Demonstrations available from the IACP.  Revisions to the IACP’s model policy on “Crowd Management and Control” are expected in late 2025.

Data helps drive better, more informed decision making. With this in mind, police leaders across the United States have contributed to the police agency benchmarking dashboards to make it easier for relevant stakeholders to see how their agencies compare to those of similar sizes, locations, and types. The IACP Center for Police Research and Policy used data collected directly from police agencies, along with national statistics from the LEMAS, SVI, and NIBRS datasets, to create the dashboards below. These interactive dashboards display information about budgets, staffing, recruitment, technology, calls for service, and more. 

Thinking of starting a new program or adding new specialized staff? These dashboards can help you identify and connect with agencies that have done similar work. The dashboards can also help you compare your data with peer agencies, track trends in policy development, and manage changes efficiently. The following dashboards are not just databases - they are a decision making resource!