WHEREAS, the integrity and professional conduct of law enforcement officers is essential to the impartial administration of justice and to maintaining public trust and confidence in the profession; and

WHEREAS, recent widely publicized instances of police misconduct have resulted in public demands for increased police accountability and expanded efforts to identify and deal with patterns or practices of individual officer behavior that may lead to serious misconduct; and

WHEREAS, following investigations of several high profile incidents, there have been demands for police departments to establish data collection systems that would assist in identifying officers who may be at risk for serious misconduct or corruption, thereby allowing the department to take preventive action in these cases; and

WHEREAS, establishing such systems requires significant investments in computer hardware and software, additional internal affairs and human resource specialists, and specialized training; and

WHEREAS, many law enforcement agencies do not have the resources needed to make these investments; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that it is the position of the International Association of Chiefs of Police that discretionary funding to develop early warning systems and provide increased staffing should be included as a part of the COPS program, and a priority for the United States Department of Justice; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that similar to COPS funding for video cameras in patrol vehicles, funding to develop Early Warning Systems should be part of an overall proactive and preventative police accountability strategy designed to fund prevention measures, and which are the preferred course of action prior to, the imposition of a consent decree