CANDIDATE FOR VICE PRESIDENT AT LARGE

I am a candidate for the newly created Vice President at Large position of the International Association of Chiefs of Police Board of Officers.

The position of Vice President at Large is new to the IACP Board of Officers and was created as a result of a restructuring plan (which is intended to shorten the number of years required to reach the position of President). This change also provides an opportunity for those, like myself, wishing to sit on the Board, to make a meaningful contribution without Presidential aspirations.

Traditionally, members wishing to pursue the position of President, were required to run for the office of the 6th Vice President and work their way through the Vice Presidential chairs to the position of President and, subsequently, immediate Past President. In addition to any previous work within the IACP Committees, Sections or Divisions an individual would be required to invest 8 years of professional life to work through the Board positions.

To shorten this commitment to six years, the new Board structure will include four Vice Presidents, each one moving through the chairs to President and two Vice Presidents at Large, serving three years, with their respective terms beginning one year apart. To accomplish the newly defined structure, the IACP Board of Officers will add the two Vice Presidents at Large over two years beginning in 2003, the position for which I am candidate and subsequently in 2004, thereby expanding the size of the new Board by two. In 2005 and 2006 the positions of 5th and 6th Vice Presidents will be eliminated, returning the Board to its current number of members.

I am the first IACP member to announce my intention to be a candidate for the position of Vice President at Large under the newly created procedures. This being a departure from past IACP Board format, I thought it important to explain, in some detail, the new format.

I also believe it is important for candidates to provide to the members an accounting of who they are, their beliefs, their objectives and what they stand for in order for the members of IACP to make an informed choice; a choice that will best serve the greater interest of IACP and all its members.

I have been a police officer for 34 years, having served as Chief of Police for the past 11 years in three major Municipal Departments, London, Ontario, York Region and the City of Toronto. The Toronto Police Service is the largest Municipal Police Agency in Canada with over 5200 sworn and 2000 civilian personnel.

I am a Past President of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police and have served on the Board of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police as well as extensive current and past involvement in various committees and other police bodies, nationally and internationally.

I am a graduate of the National Executive Institute and the Law Enforcement Executive Development Programs of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation as well as the Executive Development Institute of the Canadian Police College.

For several years, I have been actively involved with IACP as a member of the Executive Committee and am the current Chair of the North America World Regional Office. I also serve as a member of the IACP Foundation Board of Directors, Resolutions, Crime Prevention, and Constitution and Rules Committees.

I was the proud host of the 108th Annual IACP Conference and the Major Cities Chiefs meeting held in Toronto in October 2001. Following the tragic events of September 11th, we were moved to dedicate the conference Host Chief's Night as our "Tribute to America".

The tragic events of 9-11 have given us a new reality about the evil that dwells amongst us and has had a very significant impact on how we feel about our safety and our vulnerability. In this regard, I want to assure you of my wholehearted support of both the vision and efforts of IACP in the fight against terrorism.

Throughout my career, I have been actively involved in international policing issues, most notably the Interpol Standing Working Party on Offences Against Minors Focusing on the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Child Pornography. I have toured with Police Officers seconded to the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Kosovo and led a delegation of Canadian Police Officers to Lithuania to assist Police Executives of that nation in their reorganization of Police Services.

I believe it is absolutely vital, as police leaders, that we rise to meet the many unprecedented current and emerging safety, security and quality of life challenges that threaten our communities and nations. As police leaders, we must continue to build on our successes with an even greater commitment to honest, ethical and effective services to the public we have a sworn duty to serve and protect. The IACP represents the thread that binds all of us, locally, nationally and internationally as police professionals having common needs and who face similar challenges. I also believe that the future is ours to define.

As your elected Vice President at Large, I will be committed to the following:

• Supporting wholeheartedly, the recently revised strategic plan, especially the vision, objectives and intents of IACP as we confidently move forward in the service and support of our members.
• Ensuring that the IACP becomes more sensitive of its international membership as well as creating increased opportunities to broaden services and support to the members in such critical areas as; Community-Police Race/Diversity Research, Training and Promotion of Best Practices; Minorities Recruiting, Promotion and Retention, including Women in Policing; Police Ethics, Accountability, Public Image and Trust, Crime Prevention and Violent Crime Abatement, especially dealing with the Sexual Exploitation and Victimization of Children, including the Production and Distribution of Child Pornography.
• An open and inclusive membership.

I am proud of my relationship with the International Association of Chiefs of Police and I am grateful to Past Presidents and fellow Board Members for their support and encouragement over the years. These are the very people who have greatly influenced my desire to pursue the position of Vice President at Large, thus enabling me to contribute, as they have, to the greatness of IACP.

I am confident that my years of extensive police experience and a proven track record of strong leadership, managing change and the building of bridges between law enforcement agencies and our communities, will enable me to make an even greater contribution to IACP and its members. I look forward to your support.