Cambridge Police to Lead Four Sessions at the 2016 IACP Conference

Members of the Cambridge Police Department and their program partners will be presenting at the annual conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), which is being hosted in San Diego October 15-18, 2016.  They will lead four sessions in the Leadership, Programs and Research, and Public Information Officer tracks.  

Retired Commissioner Robert Haas, Lieutenant Leonard DiPietro, Dr. James Barrett from the Cambridge Health Alliance, Khari Milner from the Cambridge Public Schools will present a session “Arrest Less: Improving Community Relations Through a Juvenile-Based Police Response to Behavioral Health.” The session will focus on how the Cambridge Safety Net Collaborative prepares officers to intervene with youth with behavioral health conditions and collaborate with service providers.

Retired Commissioner Haas, Lieutenant DiPietro and Dr. Barrett will also lead a Leadership track entitled “Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) in Action: How CIT Facilitated the Safety of an Individual Involved in a Barricade Incident.”  They will discuss how Crisis Intervention Training led to the safe removal and hospitalization of an armed, suicidal veteran barricaded in his apartment. More specifically, representatives will discuss how the officer identified the man as emotionally disturbed, strategies an officer used to engage with the man, the role of Crisis Negotiators and the Special Response Team, communication and coordination with local service providers, and follow-up during and post-hospitalization.

Jeremy Warnick, Director of Communications and Media Relations at the Cambridge Police Department, will be presenting two Public Information Officer sessions: “How to Effectively Measure Your Social Media Efforts Without a Budget” and “5 PR Lessons Communities Can Learn from School Bomb Threats.”

“I am impressed with how well the City of Cambridge and the Cambridge Police Department are once again represented at the preeminent law enforcement conference in the world,” said Police Commissioner Christopher J. Burke. “The fact that members of the Department will be presenting at four sessions speaks to the quality and progressive nature of our strategies, programs, and thought leadership.”   

The IACP Annual Conference & Expo is the largest law enforcement event of the year, as more than 14,000 public safety professionals attend to learn new techniques, advance their knowledge and careers, and equip their department for ongoing success.