WHEREAS, in a free society, law enforcement is entrusted and expected to protect the civil rights of its citizens; and

WHEREAS, the overwhelming majority of police officers perform their duty in a professional and impartial manner free from bias; and

WHEREAS, traffic stop data collection has symbolic as well as practical value if it is clear what needs to be collected and the data is to be collected in a manner so as not to insult the individual citizen involved; and

WHEREAS, the IACP could establish a standard methodology for the profession to follow in collection and analysis and a computer program to capture the data; and

WHEREAS, the IACP can call upon criminal justice academicians to establish proper benchmarking so that the traffic stop data can be analyzed and useful; and

WHEREAS, in approaching the recruitment of new police officers, the profession should develop a testing and evaluation component for racial, gender, physical ability, religious, sexual orientation bias and action drawn from that bias; and

WHEREAS, there may be benefit to broadening recruitment efforts to younger audiences in an effort to broaden the pool of potential applicants to reflect the full breath of the community especially groups traditionally reluctant to enter the profession, i.e. Junior ROTC; and

WHEREAS, every law enforcement chief executive should review hiring eligibility requirements to ensure those requirements are free of bias and not excluding otherwise eligible candidates; and

WHEREAS, every law enforcement agency should conduct a thorough job history of all applicants during a background investigation; and

WHEREAS, police academy and in-service training should be value-based with emphasis on ethics, respect, diversity, integrity, conflict resolution, courtesy and its practical components realistically based. Moreover, training must become the responsibility of supervisors, managers and administrators, not just the academy staff. It is crucial that academies balance the number of hours provided in those areas that impact the decision to use force; and

WHEREAS, each agency should develop accountability systems which hold every level of the organization accountable for misconduct; and

WHEREAS, the IACP recognizes that establishing managerial accountability is somewhat risky and requires courage of conviction, and the long-term benefits to the department and the community outweigh any opposition. Therefore, the IACP should develop a support system for police chiefs who take strong action on accountability which is unpopular within their organizations; and

WHEREAS, when police officers violate a core value of the agency they should be held accountable; and

WHEREAS, every police agency should have a policy which clearly prohibits biased policing; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the IACP reaffirms its long standing position against biased enforcement or any other type of discriminatory practices

WHEREAS, in a free society, law enforcement is entrusted and expected to protect the civil rights of its citizens; and the vast majority of police officers perform their duty in a professional and impartial manner free of bias; and

WHEREAS, the International Association of Chiefs of Police recognizes that tensions created by some police contacts with citizens have become a concern to police and citizens alike; and this tension has been heightened by allegations of bias based policing and discriminatory practices; and

WHEREAS, it is also recognized that criminal drug organizations will use public transportation systems to move illegal drugs throughout the country, and it is a necessary and vital law enforcement function to interdict these shipments; and

WHEREAS, the law enforcement officers involved in drug interdiction efforts must ensure no use of biased based policing and ensure that policies are consistent with both federal and state laws, legal opinions and court decisions on such activity and ensure professional and ethical conduct at all times; and

WHEREAS, traffic stops should not be made on the basis of the motorist’s race, ethnicity, or economic status, but rather on articulable suspicion or actual violation of a law; and

WHEREAS, participants at this forum acknowledge that to strengthen trust and confidence between law enforcement and the community, its citizens and officers must have mutual respect; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police duly assembled at its 108th Annual Conference in Toronto, Canada, does not endorse, train, teach, support, or condone any type of bias based policing by any law enforcement agency or individual acting under the law; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police hereby commits its resources and energies to work at all levels to enhance trust between police and the communities they serve; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police urges all law enforcement agencies to examine their interdiction strategies and their mission and value statements, training programs, field supervision, evaluation of citizen complaints and traffic stop data and other efforts to ensure that racial or ethnic based traffic stops are not being employed within their agencies and that all citizens are treated with the utmost courtesy and respect when they encounter our officers; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police reaffirms its long standing position against biased based policing or any other.

WHEREAS, according to the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration, the majority of traffic crashes are caused by moving traffic violations and kill 41,967 people a year, injure another 3.4 million persons, and cause a societal loss of $150 billion dollars a year; and

WHEREAS, intensive traffic enforcement efforts have been proven to reduce traffic crashes and increase the apprehension of criminal offenders; and

WHEREAS, law enforcement agencies have seized more illegal drugs resulting from traffic enforcement than they have from undercover enforcement strategies; and

WHEREAS, traffic stops utilizing plainview and consent searches annually lead to the interdiction of millions of dollars in illegal substances and stolen property; and

WHEREAS, careful analysis of the actions and behaviors of criminal offenders who use motor vehicles in the commission of crimes reveals commonalties which, after the traffic stop, can be used to develop probable cause; and

WHEREAS, such strategies, when based upon articulable suspicion that an infraction of the law has been committed, have been upheld as constitutionally appropriate by the U.S. Supreme Court; and '

WHEREAS, traffic stops should not be made on the basis of the motorist’s race, ethnicity, or economic status, but rather on articulable suspicion or actual violation of a law; and

WHEREAS, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and professional law enforcement organizations' training courses teach that biased or unprofessional enforcement practices are prohibited and will not be condoned; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police urges all law enforcement agencies to utilize the “IACP Guiding Principles of Proactive Traffic Enforcement” when developing strategies for crash prevention and crime control; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, all law enforcement agencies are urged to examine their interdiction strategies and their mission and value statements, training programs, field supervision, evaluation of citizen complaints and traffic stop data and other efforts to ensure that racial or ethic-based traffic stops are not being employed within their agencies and that all citizens are treated with the utmost courtesy and respect when they encounter our officers; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the United States Department of Justice are urged to form a closer partnership for the purpose of providing financial support to state, county, municipal law enforcement agencies for training programs or in-car audio and video systems, and to assist in the voluntary collection of appropriate data relative to this resolution.

This statement is an attachment to the resolution, "Condemning Racial and Ethnic Profiling in Traffic Stops."

Law enforcement officers committed to the lifesaving benefits of proactive traffic enforcement are aware of its ancillary benefits in terms of crime prevention, reduction, and criminal apprehension. Proactive traffic enforcement should be carried out in a manner that strikes a balance between the right of citizens to enjoy a quality of life free from crime and traffic crashes and the right of citizens to be free from unreasonably intrusive police conduct; therefore, the International Association of Chiefs of Police proposes the following Guiding Principles: Sir Robert Peel, in 1829, said that the first duty of the police is the prevention of crime; that the police can only be effective if they earn the trust of the public; and that the law must be enforced equally and impartially for all citizens. These principles are as sound today as they were in Peel’s day. Community policing as practiced today involves a partnership between the police and the public that addresses crime, neighborhood deterioration, traffic problems and other quality of life issues. Lessons can be learned from the most successful officers who are able to go beyond the traffic stop and apprehend criminal suspects. Police officers should be assigned to areas where there is a high likelihood that crashes will be reduced and/or criminal suspects will be apprehended. Achieving a higher rate of compliance in the use of safety belts and child safety restraints through proactive enforcement will save thousands of lives and prevent hundreds of thousands of disabling injuries from traffic crashes each year. Citizens of particular age, socioeconomic, and ethnic groups appear to have lower compliance levels in the use of these safety devices than other groups and therefore may be disproportionately represented in enforcement action for violations of safety belt and child restraint laws, but to the extent that enforcement of these laws brings a greater number of these citizens into compliance, these citizens will also disproportionately share in the lifesaving benefits of such enforcement. Enforcement efforts can be enhanced by effective public information efforts. Officers involved in traffic enforcement should be properly trained. Training programs in traffic enforcement must emphasize the need to respect the rights of all citizens to be free of unreasonable government intrusion or police action. Traffic enforcement programs must be accompanied by effective supervisory oversight to ensure that officers do not go beyond the parameters of reasonableness in conducting such activities. Traffic stops should be made only with articulable suspicion that the person stopped has committed a traffic violation. Appropriate enforcement action should always be completed at traffic stops, generally in the form of a warning, citation, or arrest. No motorist, once cited or warned, should be detained beyond the point where there exists no reasonable suspicion of further criminal activity. Officers making traffic stops shall not make them based on race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status. Motor vehicle driver license information regarding the race of drivers stopped for traffic violations should be recorded whenever available and this data utilized by police departments to determine the extent to which racial minorities are stopped for traffic violations in proportion to their absolute numbers in the area’s population, and the number of minority stops which result in criminal apprehension versus the overall numbers of stops that result in such violations. In jurisdictions where racial data is not contained on driver licenses and the racial characteristics of motorists are not visibly apparent, police officers should not be required to risk offending citizens by asking them their race at the time of a motor vehicle stop.

WHEREAS, national concerns have been raised regarding the extent to which racial profiling may or may not exist as a triggering element in traffic stops and drug interdiction strategies; and

WHEREAS, some law enforcement agencies are required to record the race and ethnicity information of the subjects of police traffic stops; and

WHEREAS, race or ethnicity is no longer a data element on most states’ driver’s licenses; and

WHEREAS, without this element the only accurate way to determine the race or ethnicity of most drivers is for the officer to make a direct inquiry of the motorist; and

WHEREAS, such an inquiry often leads to embarrassment, resentment, misunderstanding and even confrontation; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police urges states to incorporate race and ethnicity as a data element and print it on the driver’s license to facilitate the capture and accurate recording of this information; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the federal government is encouraged to provide funding to assist states wishing to modify their driver’s license and databases for this purposes; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be forwarded to the United States Attorney General, Secretary of Transportation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, The National Governors' Association, The National Association of Governors' Highway Safety Representatives, and the National Sheriffs' Association, and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.

WHEREAS, in a free society, law enforcement is entrusted and expected to protect the civil rights of its citizens; and

WHEREAS, the overwhelming majority of police officers perform their duty in a professional and impartial manner free from bias; and

WHEREAS, the International Association of Chiefs of Police recognizes that tensions created by some police contacts with citizens have become a concern to police and citizens alike; and

WHEREAS, this tension has been heightened by allegations of bias profiling and discriminatory practices, and the IACP in November 1998, conducted a forum addressing one of these areas of concern, traffic stops; and

WHEREAS, the IACP has recognized the important nature and necessity of traffic stops as a vital and effective law enforcement tool that saves lives, reduces injuries and other crimes; and

WHEREAS, traffic stops have been proven to reduce street and violent crimes, increase the apprehension of criminal offenders, combat illegal drug activities, illegal guns and other crimes; and

WHEREAS, forum participants acknowledged that bias, real or perceived, is detrimental to the relationship between police and the community they serve and erodes the basic foundations of trust affecting community policing; and

WHEREAS, participants at this forum developed a series of recommendations to reassure the community that their concerns are being addressed and that steps are being taken to correct problems where they occur; and

WHEREAS, participants at this forum unacknowledged that to strengthen trust and confidence between law enforcement and the community, its citizens and officers must have mutual respect; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the IACP reaffirms its long standing position against biased enforcement or any other type of discriminatory practices; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the IACP does not endorse, train, teach, support, or condone any type of bias profiling by any law enforcement agency or individual acting under color of law; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that it is the law enforcement executives, in conjunction with their officers, who have the responsibility to open dialogue and discussion with community groups to produce guidelines for police policies, operational procedures, and training programs; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the IACP encourages the law enforcement profession to employ the recommendations of the Professional Traffic Stops Forum along with the recommendations that are developed at future IACP forums; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the IACP hereby commits its resources and energies to work at all levels to enhance trust between police and the communities they serve.

WHEREAS, a good cooperative relationship between public law enforcement and private security is beneficial to public safety, and

WHEREAS, the private security industry continues to grow in the role of protector of the public good in concert with public law enforcement, and

WHEREAS, the constantly changing challenges of new forms of crime, especially high-technology crime, mandate the creation of even closer bonds between public law enforcement and private security, and

WHEREAS, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, supported by the American Society of Industrial Security, has developed a major national initiative entitled "Operation Cooperation" to encourage partnerships between law enforcement and private security professionals, and

WHEREAS, Operation Cooperation will provide guideline documents, videos, partnership profiles and other material to illustrate the benefits of cooperative public/private partnerships, and

WHEREAS, the Operation Cooperation material and initiative will serve as a guide to those law enforcement executives and private security practitioners who wish to establish formal cooperative relationships for the benefit of the public, now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the IACP fully supports and encourages the greater cooperation between public law enforcement and private security as brought about by the Operation Cooperation program, and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the IACP will distribute Operation Cooperation materials and promote the concept to its membership, and encourage their members to further disseminate this information to all their law enforcement colleagues.

WHEREAS, homeland security has put new demands on law enforcement resources; and, WHEREAS, results from studies initiated by the alarm industry indicate that multiple call verification (two or more calls prior to request for dispatch) significantly reduce false dispatches, thereby freeing up law enforcement resources that can be redirected to Homeland Security issues; now, therefore be it RESOLVED; IACP urges all alarm companies to: · Immediately implement multiple call verification procedures to be used by the central station monitoring center prior to law enforcement dispatch on all alarm signals from customer alarms, and · Support local jurisdiction efforts to adopt procedures or ordinances mandating multiple call verification procedures.

WHEREAS, for more than ten years, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the alarm industry have been involved in a cooperative effort that has dramatically reduced dispatches to false alarms; and

WHEREAS, results from studies indicate that new features in burglar alarm control panels reduce the occurrence and dispatch of false alarms, thereby freeing up law enforcement resources that can be redirected to homeland security and other police issues; and

WHEREAS, the American National Standard Institute (ANSI) standard “SIA CP-01” (Security Industry Association) has been developed to establish burglar alarm control panel features that assist in reducing false alarms; and

WHEREAS, Underwriter Laboratories (UL) has tested burglar alarm control panels to this new standard, and a number of alarm panel manufacturers are in compliance; therefore be it

RESOLVED that the International Associations of Chiefs of Police urges municipalities and counties, when developing false alarm ordinances, to consider the SIA CP-01 standard for alarm control panels and all alternatives to managing alarms; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED that the IACP urges all alarm panel manufacturers to manufacture alarm control panels in compliance with the SIA CP-01 standard; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED that the IACP urges all installing alarm companies to utilize alarm control panels in compliance with the SIA CP-01 standard.

WHEREAS, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) convened a National Policy Summit (hereinafter, “the Summit”) on January 26-27, 2004, entitled “Building Private Security/Public Policing Partnerships to Prevent and Respond to Terrorism and Public Disorder;” and

WHEREAS, the purpose of the Summit was to identify areas in which leaders in law enforcement and private security can better serve the public safety needs through cooperative partnerships to share information and coordinate activities through communication; and

WHEREAS, this Summit was the first event to bring together executives from the private sector and from all levels of law enforcement; and

WHEREAS, Summit participants were tasked with creating an action agenda to further the interests of creating and sustaining such partnerships; and

WHEREAS, through the efforts of the Summit’s six working groups, participants recommended four national-level, long-term efforts and a fifth, relating to local and regional efforts that could begin immediately:

• Leaders of the major law enforcement and private security organizations should make a formal commitment to cooperation.
• The Department of Homeland Security and/or Department of Justice should fund research and training on relevant legislation, private security, and law enforcement–private security cooperation. The appropriate body should conduct both baseline and ongoing research and should encourage training.
• The Department of Homeland Security and/or Department of Justice should create an advisory council composed of nationally prominent law enforcement and private security professionals to oversee the day-to-day implementation issues of law enforcement–private security partnerships. The advisory council would work to institutionalize partnerships, address tactical issues and intelligence sharing, improve selection and training guidelines and standards of private security personnel, market the concept of law enforcement– private security partnership, and create a national partnership information center.
• The Department of Homeland Security and/or Department of Justice, along with relevant membership organizations, should convene key practitioners to move this agenda forward in the future. It should do so by organizing future summits on issues in law enforcement–private security cooperation.
• Local partnerships should set priorities and address key problems as identified by the summit. Examples of local and regional activities that can and should be undertaken immediately include the following: • Improve joint response to critical incidents. • Coordinate infrastructure protection. • Improve communications and data interoperability. • Bolster information and intelligence sharing. • Prevent and investigate high-tech crime. • Devise responses to workplace violence.

WHEREAS, efforts to discern advancement of these recommendations have not yielded positive results to a majority of the committee’s members; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED that the International Association of Chiefs of Police, through its elected and chosen leadership, should coordinate with the Summit’s principals a fact finding meeting to ascertain the current status of each recommendation and share with the Private Sector Liaison Committee its findings with regard to furthering of the Summit’s identified mission and purpose; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED that if the IACP leadership determines that no significant activity has furthered accomplishment of the itemized recommendations, they should designate a Board of Officers liaison and a staff liaison to assist the Private Sector Liaison Committee to move these critical recommendations forward.

WHEREAS, today in many parts of the United States, there is a serious and widening gap developing between police agencies and the communities they serve; and,

WHEREAS, concerns over highly publicized incidents of use of force, racial profiling, corruption, and instances of unethical behavior of police officers and executives have laid the groundwork for many of our citizens to believe that the problems are widespread and deeply rooted, and

WHEREAS, the separation that has occurred is especially frustrating since it comes at a time when considerable emphasis has been given to programs that focus on police-community partnerships and at a time when violent crime has been reduced to its lowest level in decades.

WHEREAS, these concerns encompass not only law enforcement but spread to all the participants in the criminal justice system - to the courts, to prosecutors along with corrections and probation officials; and,

WHEREAS, for all of these elements to perform in an effective manner that ensures justice and leads to orderly and peaceful communities, we must do everything we can to maintain a trusting and confident relationship with all of our citizens in every part of the country; and,

WHEREAS, in 1965 President Lyndon Johnson issued an executive order establishing the Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice recognizing, as he said, “the urgency of the Nation’s crime problem,” and,

WHEREAS, the Commission labored for a year and a half producing 200 specific recommendations involving federal, state and local governments, civic organizations, religious institutions, business groups, and individual citizens that were intended to create a safer and more just society: and,

WHEREAS, the International Association of Chiefs of Police believes that the work of the 1967 Commission, embodied in its report, “The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society,” was indeed effective and that the commission and its recommendations marked the beginning of a sea change in our methods for dealing with crime and the public and built the framework for many of the exemplary programs that continue today; and,

WHEREAS, it is the view of the International Association of Chiefs of Police that the time has come, once again, to create a national commission to conduct a comprehensive review of law enforcement and the administration of justice in the United States and to provide the nation with a measured response to crime; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police calls on President-Elect Bush to establish a national commission charged with conducting a comprehensive review of law enforcement and the administration of justice in the United States; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that this commission adopt the following principles to guide its work:

1. The commission should include all of the elements of the criminal justice system in its examination.
2. The commission should be comprised of individuals from within and outside the criminal justice system and that every effort be made to include—and to hear from every stakeholder in this process—individuals with the broadest possible perspective on the areas selected for review and concentration.
3. The commission must be given all the resources it needs to conduct a rigorous and thorough investigation and that it be given sufficient time to conduct an exhaustive review.
4. The commission should, as part of its review, study the threats, challenges and opportunities created by these significant advances in technology over the last 30 years.
5. The commission examination should be conducted in a thoroughly non-partisan manner.

WHEREAS, integrity is acknowledged by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) to be one of the most significant needs throughout the world for virtually all professions, and because the IACP seeks to demonstrate worldwide leadership in the advancement of professional honor, integrity, and ethics, and

WHEREAS, an oath is universally recognized to be a solemn pledge someone makes when they sincerely intend to commit to what they advocate and affirm; and

WHEREAS, sincere commitment to an oath can provide vital guidance during a life's most crucial decisions, a moral anchoring that can endure the test of time and a solid, emotional foundation for officer's facing their most difficult moments; and

WHEREAS, the IACP's international scope requires flexibility in language of the oath, but not in its principle; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the IACP, duly assembled at its 107th Annual Conference in San Diego, California, to embody its commitment to ethics, adopts the Law Enforcement Oath of Honor and advocates its adoption by law enforcement organizations; and the IACP adopts the IACP Membership Law Enforcement Oath of Honor for reciting when the opportunity presents itself at official gatherings of the association as a testament to our association's commitment to ethics; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Law Enforcement Oath of Honor can be adjusted as appropriate for nations, countries or governments but shall contain the following words. On my honor, I will never betray my ____1___, my integrity, my character or the public trust. I will always have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for our actions. I will always uphold the ____2____, my ___3____ and the agency I serve; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the IACP Membership Law Enforcement Oath of Honor for reciting when the opportunity presents itself at official gatherings of the association shall contain the following words: On my honor, I will never betray my profession, my integrity, my character or the public trust. I will always have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for our actions. I will always uphold the laws of my country, my community and the agency I serve.

1: Insert appropriate term such as: badge; profession; country

2: Insert appropriate term such as: constitution; laws; monarch

3: Insert appropriate term such as: community; country; land; nation