What a start to 2021

I’m ashamed to say it’s been more than a month since we lasted posted on the blog.

We got lost in the chaos of year-end projects and, of course, the holidays, then we’ve been taken in by the storm that is the start to 2021. Long story short, it’s been crazy. And it seems the craziness won’t be coming to an end anytime soon.

We all know about the events of last week, so I won’t bother rehashing them here.

I will, however, draw attention to an article I awoke to find in my inbox this morning. It seems fitting, given my project for the morning related to ICAP’s policy-based training sessions, but it’s certainly less than desirable.

And it raises a ton of “What Ifs” for law enforcement agencies around the nation (if not the world).

Just last week, ICAP hosted it’s first policy-based training sessions of the year. The focus? The Written Directive policy. (if you weren’t able to make it for the live session, the recording of the training will be available via Police Legal Sciences by the start of next week).

I was fortunate enough to attend the training, and I walked away not only with knowledge, but with ammunition to fuel the argument that law enforcement policies and procedures are drawing attention.

Of course, I assume anyone reading this knows that by now, because we all saw what happened with law enforcement departments in certain states last year.

The cases involving George Floyd and Breonna Taylor (among so many others) taught us a ton. They were tragic - they are tragic - and they were eye-opening.

One of our big takeaways, from a risk management perspective, is law enforcement departments have specific training and policy needs.

That, and the fact transparency is essential, both for law enforcement and other municipal departments alike.

We, at ICAP, have always placed heavy emphasis on transparency, and we’re encouraging our member entities to do the same.

The world is on fire, folks - it’s been a tough year for people the world over, and they’re looking for someone - or something - to blame. Don’t let it be your entity. Don’t let it be you.

Looking for more information on the training sessions noted above? Visit www.icapiowa.com/regional-training to learn more.