KEEPING CURRENT IN THE DYNAMIC
FIELD OF LAW ENFORCEMENT
By CHIEF JAMES A. WALES
Lake in the Hills Police Department
For quite some time there has been an ample
amount of energy directed toward upgrading the training of police officers throughout the State of Illinois.
The training, provided from a multiple amount of qualified training agencies, has upgraded the professional
capabilities of the police officer throughout Illinois,
from tiny hamlets to booming cities, to the point where
the delivery of effective and professional police services are the rule, rather than the exception.
This has been true for most ranks within the police
organizations, from patrol officer to detective to sergeant. However, perhaps one of the most difficult tasks
is that of identifying what continued training is necessary for the Chief of Police.
One of the most dangerous pitfalls that the Chief or
the Mayor/President and City Council/Board of Trustees may fall into may be that of presuming the Chief is
all-knowing and will remain all-knowing in all areas
concerning law enforcement. In reality, the Chief is the
one person who, as the head of probably the most
litigated department within the structure of a municipality, can mean the difference between a large economic loss that could be catastrophic for a small village,
or a well-oiled agency that provides top services with
limited economic loss exposure. As such, the continued
training for the Chief is probably as important, if not
more so, than the officer to whom you give a gun and
put out on the street.
So the question is not whether continued training is
important for the Chief of Police but, rather, what kind
of training and where can it be obtained? This question
is even more dramatic for small agencies which perhaps
cannot afford, either in dollars or in manhours, to send
their Chief away for weeks at a time, every year, so that
he/she can stay current on the everchanging world of
law enforcement.
One readily available source of training provided
for Chiefs, that does not put a great deal of strain on
either the towns' pocketbook or manhours, is obtained
through membership with the Illinois Association of
Chiefs of Police and by attending their semi-annual
training conferences.
The training conferences, held at different locations
throughout the State, are ideal avenues by which
Chiefs, from either a one officer or a 100 officer department, may gain as much knowledge as possible in
the three days that the conferences are held.
In addition to the legal update sections that are held
at each conference, several training sessions (on a selected topic) are held throughout the conference.
For example, the Association's training theme for its
most recent conference, held during January, 1991, in
Arlington Heights, Illinois, was on disasters. Attendees
at the conference were able to hear first hand from
experts who have dealt with various forms of disasters
and learn what worked and what didn't. Representatives from the law enforcement agencies from Plainfield (IL) P.])., San Francisco (CA) P.D., Scotland Yard
(England), the Cook County Medical Examiners Office and the U.S. Air Force, all made presentations with
first hand knowledge of recent disasters they had experienced and how they responded to them.
In addition to the formal training provided at the
seminars, the training conferences provide an avenue
for Chiefs from throughout the State, from small to
large agencies, to meet and discuss various problems
they are encountering. Oftentimes a Chief will discuss a
Page 22 / Illinois Municipal Review / May 1991
problem only to find that a Chief from the other end of
the State just went through a similar situation and, so,
he/she is able to glean information on possible solutions.
Membership in the IACP also provides avenues for
Chiefs of Police to have input in various areas that
effect their police department and ultimately their municipality. Members, via committees of the Association
made active through the efforts of the member Chiefs,
have been able to have valuable input into areas of
legislation, training for officers, a state memorial for
officers killed in the line of duty, etc,
Active membership and participation in the training
conferences of the Illinois Chiefs of Police Association
is not a luxury. It is a demonstration of the effort of the
municipality to allow its' Chief to not only stay current
with the issues prevalent in the world of law enforcement of today, but also to prepare the Chief to meet the
demands of law enforcement in the future.
For further information on the benefits of membership in the Illinois Association Chiefs of Police or the
training conferences conducted by the Association,
please contact either Mr. George Koertge, Executive
Director of the Illinois Association Chiefs of Police at
217-523-3765, or IACP Membership Committee Co-Chairmen: Chief Robert J. Noonan, Troy P.D. at 618-
667-6731 or Chief James A. Wales, Lake in the Hills
P.D., at 708-658-5676. •
May 1991 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 23