The Achievements of ILEF
ILEF has both provided a valuable forum for exchange of good practice and guidance, and has also achieved a number of specific improvements. It remains a unique model. The “value” that it has added in this way includes the following:
· ILEF has facilitated the creation of a ‘strategic window’, where despite the jurisdictional and cultural/contextual differences of participant organisations and countries, ‘the commonality of operational challenges, threat and risk assessment and policy issues’ has emerged;
· Significantly, this has resulted in participants identifying and adopting what they viewed as good practices, policy, procedure and tactical issues associated with less-lethal weapons. This has included approaches to an agreed international law enforcement operational requirement, and the evaluation, testing, deployment and use of less-lethal technologies;
· While nations’ militaries have long used frameworks and forums to share best practices, the same did not exist previously for nations’ law enforcement agencies. ILEF enables such information sharing. To date, no other comparable international forum exists.
· ILEF participants include police practitioners, policy makers, scientists, engineers, researchers, academics and medical personnel. Together, they examine complex, multi-faceted issues, in pursuit of multi-disciplinary approaches;
· It is evident that commonality is emerging in terms of terminology, managing conflict models and the process of operational review as well as evaluation and data collection;
· Based on the ILEF model, a Canadian Law Enforcement Forum has been established, enabling information sharing across Canada’s jurisdictional boundaries. An effort has been made to establish a similar forum among law enforcement agencies in Latin America;
· Several major US law enforcement agencies have adopted the Northern Ireland (and now UK-wide) practice of a changed aiming point for less-lethal impact rounds from the centre of the chest to the belt buckle;
· Texts agreed by ILEF have been incorporated into many law enforcement agencies’ manuals;
· ILEF was used by the UK Government and ACPO to undertake an International peer review of the Attenuating Energy Projectile (AEP) prior to its operational introduction as a replacement for the baton round previously in service;
· ILEF participants highlight issues which may not be recognised by other communities – such as excited delirium and police responses to emotionally and mentally distressed individuals. ILEF reports seek to inform relevant communities, which can be valuable in developing responses;
· Building on the ILEF link, an international database on less-lethal technologies held and used by law enforcement agencies was developed by the UK Home Office Police Scientific Development Branch and placed on the ILEF website. There are now numerous databases available internationally;
· The 2004 and the 2011 meetings have provided a platform for law enforcement agencies, Civil Liberty Groups, Human Rights Organisations and Mental Health bodies to meet in an international setting and seek positive engagement;
· Canada, UK, and US governments support ILEF’s international outreach and partnerships and its reports are used to inform governmental decision-making;
· ILEF has also provided a forum for exchange with the European Working Group on Non-Lethal Weapons (EWG-NLF).
Much of the work of ILEF is done in a virtual way, through the use of social media, specifically Facebook and LinkedIn sites, and by exchange of e-mail through the Electronic Operational Requirements Group (EORG). The EORG process enables relevant experts, who are geographically dispersed, to discuss and debate key topics involving less-lethal weapons and reach an agreed position. ILEF‘s active forum on the LinkedIn network, with almost 300 members representing numerous countries, facilitates informed discussion on current topics, such as those flowing from the events in Ferguson, Missouri.
Conclusion
ILEF has and continues to provide a very effective forum for the sharing of international good practice, and for discussion on important topics both within the police/law enforcement community and with wider interest groups. It is effectively a non-governmental body of experts, albeit most practitioners in the law enforcement field, which is not beholden to any specific position.
It is recognised that financial constraints may make the model of international meetings (at which participants or their parent organisations pay their own travel and subsistence costs) increasingly difficult to sustain. However, the electronic dimension to the Forum, together with its record of publishing and sharing its conclusions, suggest that ILEF should remain a valuable part of the international law enforcement community and one that is worthy of continued support.
Recent events, both in terms of community reaction in the UK and North America following police uses of lethal force and terrorist attacks such as those which occurred in Paris in 2015 highlight the Forum’s relevance, more than ever.
Testimony to the US President’s Task Force
It is of note that the events in Ferguson Missouri in August 2014 which formed a part of the international context against which the 10th ILEF in Belfast was taking place, led to the US President forming a Task Force on 21st Century Policing chaired by Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey, who also serves as President of the Major Cities Chiefs Police Association, and Laurie Robinson, professor of criminology, law and society at George Mason University as well as a Assistant Attorney General for DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs.
Members of the Task Force were aware of ILEF and the work which it had undertaken, including the 10th Workshop in Belfast. In a letter dated January 16, 2015, our Executive Director received the following invitation to submit written testimony to the Task Force.
Dear Colonel (Ret.) USMC Mazzara:
On behalf of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing (“Task Force”), you are invited to provide written testimony on the topic of Policy and Oversight for consideration by the Task Force. The Task Force, established by an Executive Order signed by President Barack H. Obama on December 18, 2014, is charged with identifying ways to strengthen public trust and foster strong relationships between local law enforcement and the communities that they protect while also promoting effective crime reduction.
Your testimony should focus on specific recommendations for the Task Force to consider.
Subsequently, and with the assistance of members drawn from the ILEF Advisory Board a written submission was made to the Task Force and is referenced in their final report. The executive summary of the submission read:
The full text of the submission can be found at Annex A of this report however the major recommendations were:
Major Recommendations
1. Ensure Adherence to the Nine Principles of Policing: Often attributed to UK Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel, these have significantly influencing modern policing in Canada, New Zealand and the UK.[i] They also have influenced some US police leadership. Termed "policing by consent," these principles make police responsible and accountable to the communities they police. Adherence to these principles has broad implications for police leadership.
2. Understand and Respect a Community's Cultures: Referencing Milwaukee's large Somali population, one ILEF police officer stated, "Organizationally, it would be incumbent upon you to have cultural training for that large population … You would be foolish not to have your officers trained in cultural issues for groups that you are going to interact with, in probably one out of three calls."
3. Communicate with the Community: This should be done for the sake of the principle, "securing of the willing co-operation of the public in the task of securing observance of laws." As one ILEF police officer stated, "In South Florida… the citizens are holding the checkbook. We've made them realize that all the cops that work there are citizens too. So, let's try to make it a glass house. We try to dispel fear and rumors, and we get public support. We put on presentations at citizens ’meetings and let them know what their tax dollars are going for."
4. Police in a Manner Acceptable to the Community: This is in keeping with the principle, "The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police actions." This has been emphasized by ILEF member, a retired major in the Springfield, Missouri Police Department. Ultimately, it is typically a jury of ordinary citizens who judge the actions of police officers.[ii] The need for leadership to communicate with its community places great importance on social media. Referring to the Seattle Police Department's "Tweets-By-Beat," which informs its citizens about policing operations, one ILEF police officer stated, "We’ve had nothing but success."
5. Standardize Use of Force Reporting: How powerful and immensely useful to law enforcement it would be if this Task Force achieved a mandate for developing a prototype standard use of force reporting, recording and analysis system to be offered to all law enforcement agencies in the US. Such a proffered national standard approach might also include definitions to assist getting all reporting agencies on the “same page.”
6. Develop a Model for Local Independent Investigation: A template for an Independent (seriously apolitical) Investigating Body concept that is acceptable to both police and the community they serve, coupled with a significant public education, would enhance relations and go a long way to defuse future critical incidents surrounding officer involved shootings.
The submission was referenced in the final report of the Task Force and there are a number of pieces of work being taken forward across the US which reflect these recommendations.
[i] "Peel's Nine Principles of Policing" See:- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/policing-by-consent/definition-of-policing-by-consent
[ii] Report of the Ninth International Law Enforcement Forum: the Public, Protecting the Protector in a Constrained Fiscal Environment, p. 78