The International Association of Chiefs of Police today issued a “call to action by every law enforcement executive and every law enforcement agency to take stock and recommit to the principles of justice and service that are at the core of the oath that police officers take.” IACP President Richard Beary discussed the report on Tuesday with President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.
Beary, who is police chief of the University of Central Florida, said the new report of a national summit on community-police relations “stresses that law enforcement leaders should strive daily to build strong, trusting community-police relationships and recognizes that, in many areas, more can be done.” It says the challenges of policing cannot be solved by law enforcement alone. Police officers, Beary said, “have the opportunity to rescue the abused, assist the helpless, reunite missing children with their parents, prevent an individual from committing suicide, keep a child from going down the wrong path, and most importantly, save lives.”