Presidents Message
It’s hard to believe that summer is winding down. Kids
will be going back to school and the fall activities schedules kick in.
Local agencies requests for services pick up with, school
resource- Dare- extra enforcement at activities and of course before and after
school traffic. The publics expectations are that all those services
mentioned above will be met by law enforcement and it gives them a sense of a
safer community. Law enforcement always seems to respond, react and partner
together to correctly handle whatever mission they are tasked with.
There were some pieces of legislation passed in the 2017
session that will affect law enforcement. IPOA is very fortunate to have
the professional lobbying representation at the Capital that we have.
Kelly Paschke did a phenomenal job last session making sure
the rights and interests of Iowa Law Enforcement officers were addressed.
Some of those issues will most likely spark debate in the 2018 session.
Topics such as marijuana use, public sale and use of fireworks, asset
forfeiture and pension discussions will most likely surface.
It is critical that law enforcement have someone at the
Capital every day of the session to monitor and discuss those issues with
legislators. At IPOA that is our cornerstone. Out lobbyist is one
of the most respected and recognized persons at the Statehouse. IPOA is one of
the oldest and largest law enforcement associations in the state. IPOA
membership dues of $30 a year yield immeasurable benefits.
We work diligently to offer law enforcement an annual
training conference. We strive to offer this opportunity at the lowest
possible cost. By doing that it does not allow us to offer some of the
social events you may have experienced at other conferences. Training is
important to IPOA and providing those opportunities to the membership remains
our commitment.
There are a number of ways for you to become involved in
IPOA. If you have interest in representing IPOA by serving on a number of
boards, councils, advisory groups, task force or possibly the IPOA Board of
Directors please contact me. I look forward to visiting with you and
discussing how we can get you plugged in.
The 2018 Training Conference plans are just in the beginning
stages. If you have an interest in helping plan this conference or have
suggestions for topics and speakers, we welcome those suggestions, this
is your association.
As I close this message I am going to side to some of my
personal views. Many of you are aware that I have had the opportunity to
serve as the Chief of Motor Vehicle Enforcement for the last 11 years. In
2016 there was a court ruling on a speeding case written by a MVE officer that
would have drastically affected MVE in their ability to fulfill our core
mission. In short the ruling prohibited MVEs authority in a number of
essential areas. IPOA and the majority of the law enforcement community
rallied behind efforts to clarify through legislation.
I want to personally thank all the Sheriffs, Chiefs and
other law enforcement staff that sent letters of support they wrote and the contacts
they made with key legislators and the Governor’s Office. I also want to
thank IPOA lobbyist Kellie Paschke who worked extensively on this issues.
With Kellies efforts we were successful in taking the first few steps to get
code language passed and in place for MVE to fulfill their mission. There
is a one year sunset clause in the language and we will continue to work with
key legislators and the Governor’s Staff to satisfy the requirements of the
code.
Our hope is that we can all continue to work together to
make our communities, counties and state a safe and enjoyable place to live,
work and raise our families.
BE SAFE ! Chief Dave Lorenzen
