The 118th annual convention of the International Association of Chiefs of Police is off and rolling in Chicago—the same location of its first conference in 1893. The weather is fine, despite it being the middle of October. And despite an ailing economy, attendance at the show is up over the year prior.
On Saturday, IACP’s President Mark A. Marshall welcomed the attendees to the McCormick Center event. “It’s my personal pleasure,” he told the crowd, “to welcome you all to Chicago and the great state of Illinois.”
“It takes a great effort by the host department,” said President Marshall, “Chicago PD has tackled this challenge. Thank you so much for making this conference the success I know it will be.”
The Superintendent of the Chicago PD, Gary McCarthy, who is credited with implementing and administering NYPD’s CompStat program, told the crowd: “It’s more important now than ever to share best practices and eliminate inefficiencies.” IACP is the place to do that.
It was also announced that IACP’s Director Dan Rosenblatt will be retiring from the position after 23 years at the helm. After a review of hundreds of applications, the boards decided Rosenblatt will be replaced by Bart Johnson.
Although it was not announced, many discovered that the IACP website was down. The hacker group Anonymous hacked the site in support of Occupy Wallstreet protests, according to a statement by the group. More than 600 MB of information was released, including member’s social security numbers, addresses, passwords and other personal information. (For Law Officer columnist Nick Selby's take on Anonymous hacking activities, click here.)
The hack coincided with the annual Day of Action against Police Brutality. Boston and Alabama systems were also hacked, as well as Matrix Systems, a web developer of government sites. Anonymous said they did not leak any police union information, in solidarity with working people.
Despite the hack, most attendees seemed either unaware or unfazed by it. The showroom floor was bustling Sunday morning, with more vendors present than the year prior. The Law Officer team, including Laura Scarry, Jeff Chudwin and Dale Stockton scoured the floor for new and innovative products. “It’s like a family reunion,” said Stockton.