The Health of Law Enforcement, Part 1

The IACP is the primary organization representing police leaders throughout the world. With more than 33,000 members in 173 countries, it is the advocate and the voice for police chiefs throughout the United States and the world. As the Deputy Director, Terry Cunningham is a primary diplomat, educator, and negotiator for the Association with both the Executive and Legislative branches of the federal government. I could think of no better or more informed guest to begin our series of podcasts about law enforcement and related topics. In the first segment of this two-part interview, we discuss the current state of policing in the United States. With national polls indicating that both police morale and public trust have eroded to all-time lows, the ability to recruit and retain officers is now at a critical stage. How do we go about righting the ship and move forward? Moreover, the seemingly endless mantra for national police reform has resulted in legislative initiatives currently before Congress and state legislatures. While some concerns deserve our attention, many proposals are far-fetched, and if passed, would be potentially harmful to both the police and the people we are sworn to protect. Listen as Terry explains the efforts of his organization to set the record straight based on truths and not the fallacies to the arguments. It is an uphill battle but worth every inch of the fight.