Schaumburg police chief participates in national forum

Schaumburg Chief of Police Brian S. Howerton has been participating in several national law enforcement events in the Washington, D.C., area since last fall.

The most recent was March 23-25, when Howerton was one of 35 police chiefs from around the country selected to participate in the inaugural International Association of Chiefs of Police Mid-Sized Cities Section Meeting at the IACP Midyear Meeting.

Funded through a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, which covers all travel expenses of the participants, the police chiefs gathered to discuss the development of the new Mid-Sized Cities Section of the IACP.

The intent of this section is to provide a voice within the IACP for chiefs of jurisdictions with a population between 50,000 and 500,000, as well as a forum for these leaders to share the unique challenges and opportunities in policing that emerge from departments of this size. There are 658 police agencies nationally that are classified as a Mid-Sized City.

The section is further committed to leveraging the special capacity and flexibility of these agencies to innovate and drive progressive change with the goal of better policing our communities.

Since returning from this meeting, Howerton was selected as a member of the recruitment committee to help grow this section. By having Howerton directly involved from the inception, Schaumburg will benefit by the police department remaining at the forefront of the police profession.

On Sept. 30, 2010, Howerton participated with police chiefs from around the country in a summit presented by the Police Executive Research Forum on the topic “Is the Economic Downturn Fundamentally Changing How We Police?” The hotel and travel for this trip was paid for by PERF. Howerton shared several of the steps taken in Schaumburg to address the economic downturn, and was subsequently invited by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, to speak at their National Conference Dec. 5-8, 2010. All expenses for the trip and the conference were paid for by the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

While in attendance at this conference, Howerton spoke in front of a large audience on how Schaumburg is addressing the economic downturn and “Doing More with Less.” The theme of the presentation was challenges create opportunities. Law enforcement executives need to look at innovative ideas to provide police services, maximize resources, and continue to train and develop personnel at a high level. Information exchanged and networking among those participating will continue to benefit Howerton and his ability to lead the Schaumburg Police Department.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police is the world’s oldest and largest nonprofit membership organization of police executives, with over 20,000 members in over 100 different countries. IACP’s leadership consists of the operating chief executives of international, federal, state and local agencies of all sizes. Visit their website at theiacp.org.

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