WHEREAS, law enforcement is the most visible component of the criminal justice system; and

WHEREAS, law enforcement commonly serves as the lead body in conducting a criminal investigation; and

WHEREAS, a community empowers and trusts law enforcement to impartially and fully investigate crime; and

WHEREAS, a criminal investigation is a search for the truth to charge the guilty and exonerate the innocent; and

WHEREAS, as services and technologies continue to evolve, law enforcement must retain the ability to lawfully obtain valuable evidence in a digital and/or electronic format; and

WHEREAS, law enforcement is faced with two overlapping challenges, to secure evidence from both lawfully authorized real-time interception data and court-ordered searches of stored data; and

WHEREAS, law enforcement must effectively compile and use this evidence to demonstrate to a court of competent jurisdiction the existence of probable cause that leads a reasonable person to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that a definable criminal act has occurred, is occurring, or will occur and that the accused was the likely perpetrator; and

WHEREAS, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) has long recognized the importance of excellence in conducting criminal investigations; and

WHEREAS, the IACP continues to provide a broad spectrum of support to law enforcement through comprehensive research, model policies, issue papers, training, agency audits, public education and legislative initiatives all designed to improve and institutionalize the quality and integrity of criminal investigations across the law enforcement profession; and

WHEREAS, the IACP is a leader in forming and maintaining collaborative efforts as evidenced by continuing work with the communities, private sector businesses, academia and organizations to ensure excellence in public safety; and

WHEREAS, the IACP has a long history, dating to 1994, of assisting in the development and passage of balanced and thoughtful legislation such as the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA); now, be it

RESOLVED, the International Association of Chiefs of Police urges all law enforcement agencies, the information technology and communications industries as well as Congress and the President to embrace, support and adopt the enhancement of public safety through legislation and policies that will insure that technology providers have the technical ability to comply with lawful court orders to the same degree that other industries (banking, financial, etc.) are held and work with law enforcement to ensure the interests of the public's privacy and public safety are secure now and in the future.

FURTHER RESOLVED, an updated CALEA and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), as well as reasonable data retention regulations, should be pursued be used as foundational legislation to provide a balance that ensures safety and security; doesn't inhibit industry; and protects the rights of citizens.