Deciding where to hold the Annual Training Conference is a tough battle between mission and economics. While our mission makes us, of course, an "international" organization, the inescapable economic fact is that more than 85% of our members are from the United States, and most of them would not be able to travel out of the county for the annual conference. When we researched this issue a few years ago to determine if we could realistically hold the 2010 conference in Vancouver--just an hour from the United States border--we concluded that doing so would essentially be economic suicide. And, of course, we would leave most of our U.S. members without an annual conference that they normally look forward to.
But having all of our events in the United States seemed uncomfortably insular, especially with that "I" sitting conspicuously in front of our acronym. So we took inspiration from a much larger organization that has wrestled with the same problem: The International Association of Chiefs of Police. Although their international membership, and their overall resources, are much greater than the IACA, they still choose to hold their main annual conference in the U.S. every year. To salve this sting, they also hold separate, smaller, "international conferences" each year. In 2009, they were in Estonia and Taiwan; in 2008, it was Qatar, Brazil, and Turkey.
Our reasoning, like the IACP's, was that if we couldn't realistically hope to have our main conference outside the United States, that we could at least have smaller conferences--we decided to call them "symposiums"--that would provide some IACA presence and service where we don't normally go. In April this year, we had two: one in Santiago, Chile, and one in Vancouver, British Columbia. Each used a slightly different model of development and administration, but both were successful and bode will for the future.
We can't really take credit for the Chilean symposium. It was not our idea but theirs, and all the logistics and administration were taken care of by our partner, Fundación Paz Ciudadana, a nonprofit organization that performs research into public policy issues for criminal justice agencies in Chile. They work closely with the two major Chilean police forces (the Carabineros and the Policía de Investigaciones), the Ministry of the Interior, and the Chilean prosecutorial service. Representatives from all of these institutions, plus delegates from other South American nations, attended the three-day symposium from April 5-7. I, IACA Vice President of Membership Ericka Jackson, and IACA Technology Director Jim Mallard, gave several presentations, moderated panel discussions, and offered a two-day hands-on workshop for the analysts. We also met with delegations from each of the policing institutions in Chile and toured their facilities. We were particularly delighted to see the new Center for Strategic Crime Analysis at the Ministry of the Interior, which is headed by IACA member Martha Sepulveda. With only two police forces in the entire nation, and nationwide crime databases, a centralized, national crime analysis division is a real possibility for them. From what we saw, this unit is poised to accomplish great things.
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| The Center for Strategic Crime Analysis in Santiago |
We owe a debt of gratitude to Executive Director Javiera Blanco Suárez, Deputy Director Patricio Tudela Poblete, analysts Fernanda Varela Jorquera and Hermann Schwaderer Zúñiga, and administrative manager Mariela Frindt Küllmer for arranging everything--from the travel logistics to the facilities to the translations--so beautifully. The three of us will also never forget our attache from the Carabineros, Marcelo Escoda, who accompanied us literally everywhere and ensured that our visit to the nation was pleasant and safe.
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| IACA representatives with the staff of the training academy for the Policia de Investigaciones, where the two-day workshop was held. |
Our second international symposium, in Vancouver from April 27-28, was organized by an IACA committee consisting of Stacy Belledin (Lakewood, CO Police), Trina Cook (Tukwila, WA Police), Samantha Gwinn (LexisNexis), and Karin Sibilo (RCMP Vancouver). This was much like a smaller version of the regular IACA conference, with an open call for presentations and open registration through the IACA web site. The two-day training program featured a good mix of presentations on crime analysis techniques and innovations in the use of crime analysis by police agencies. We are particularly thankful to the Vancouver Police Department for sending such a large delegation, and Dr. Paul Brantingham, for delivering the keynote address. The conference met our registration goals (more than 75, with more than half from Canada), our financial goals (it made a profit!), and our quality goals (feedback has been very positive), and overall, I want to thank Stacy, Trina, Samantha, and Karin for providing both a valuable experience for the IACA and quality training for the attendees.
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| IACA Vice President of Administration Susan Smith presenting on "Predictive Policing" at the Coast Coal Harbor Hotel, Vancouver, BC, April 27, 2011. |
One common goal that we have for any international symposium is sustainability. Although the IACA might sponsor or participate in a symposium, what we would really like is for the analysts in the area to continue the tradition in subsequent years after we leave. With many local crime analysis associations (e.g., MARCAN, MACA, CCIAA, VCAN) offering annual conferences for their members, there is no particular reason that crime analysis organizations in every region cannot do the same thing. To that end, the IACA board is working on ways to support such effort, including a profit-sharing arrangement to provide "seed money" to each area after a successful IACA event, and an agreement to send a certain number of IACA representatives to any international crime analysis event.
The success of both of these symposiums offers us two models for the future: events planned by a host organization, with an IACA presence, and events run directly by IACA committees. Which one we use in a particular area will depend on the strengths of our partnerships and the presence of available IACA members. But either way, expect international symposiums to become a permanent part of the IACA's slate of services from now on. We are looking at locations in the Caribbean and Europe for 2012 and should have announcements by the end of the summer. We hope that these symposiums, along with increased services on our web site, new partnerships, training agreements, membership outreach, and publications will help make the International Association of Crime Analysts truly "international."
Sincerely,
Christopher W. Bruce
President
International Association of Crime Analysts
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