Plenary Session 5: Policing Reform
Our society is shifting rapidly and our longstanding institutions are trying to keep pace. New technologies, better training, and efforts to diversify our nation’s police forces have all had positive impact. Everyday we call on our police to be more than law enforcement officers and expect them to also respond to nonviolent calls relating to mental illness, addiction, and other social ills. Still we hear for calls to “defund.” Is it time to ask more of our police and cut resources? What technologies might we better leverage in our policing?
Speakers
![John Miller](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6279d557a47f8622c9cd0c66/6279dc93e548ae566b053778_624e15133980de03d616dafb_Miller%252C%2520John.jpeg)
John Miller
Deputy Commissioner, Intelligence & Counterterrorism, New York City Police Department
John Miller is the NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence & Counterterrorism, overseeing operations in both the Intelligence and Counterterrorism Bureaus, including the partnership in the FBI/NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force.
He is the former Deputy Director of the Intelligence Analysis Division at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and served as Assistant Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was also the Commanding Officer, Counter Terrorism 8 Criminal Intelligence Bureau of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators.
Along with his service in law enforcement and intelligence, Deputy Commissioner Miller was a journalist and author, best known for his interview with terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden in
Afghanistan.
![Chief Erika Shields](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6279d557a47f8622c9cd0c66/6279dc86a47f86256fcd3595_624e1208d25c440f41866d66_Shields%252C%2520Chief%2520Erika.jpeg)
Chief Erika Shields
Louisville Metro Police Department
Chief Erika Shields was appointed as the Chief of Police for the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) in January of 2021. She began her career in Atlanta, Georgia in 1995 as a patrol officer,
eventually becoming the Chief of Police in 2016. As a strong advocate for z1st Century Policing, Shields has been an outspoken leader in police reform, emphasizing the importance of intelligence-led and community-based policing. During her tenure in Atlanta, the department saw a reduction in violent crime and a marked increase in illegal gun seizures, thus positively impacting those most affected by violent crime. As Chief for LMPD, Shields is aware that it is critical to the success of the department to address violent crime, reduce the city's homicide rate, ensure a sustainable culture of equitable treatment by members towards citizens, and provide the employees the leadership necessarv to experience a sense of pride in their agency.
![Chuck Wexler](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6279d557a47f8622c9cd0c66/6279dc88f252875b48e4efb4_624cc841e83f4260ce6eddfa_Screen%2520Shot%25202022-04-05%2520at%25203.52.45%2520PM.png)
Chuck Wexler
Executive Director, Police Executive Research Forum
Chuck Wexler is Executive Director of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), a research organization of law enforcement officials and others dedicated to improving the professionalism of policing. In 2016, Wexler and PERF produced a set of 30 guiding principles on use of force, based in part on PERF's work in Scotland, where most police officers do not carry firearms but have been trained to use sophisticated de-escalation skills. PERF then developed a training program to implement the guiding principles, known as ICAT: Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics. ICAT has been implemented in many police agencies nationwide, and the New Jersey Attorney General recently mandated that all 38,000 police officers in the state receive ICAT training in 2021. In 2020, PERF produced more than 200 daily reports on the police response to the COVID-19 and other issues in policing, including the demonstrations across the nation following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. PERF also has identified best practices for reducing police use of force in interactions with suicidal persons or those with mental illness, reducing fatal drug overdoses in the opioid epidemic, developing humane approaches to homelessness, and other issues. Wexler has a Ph.D. in urban studies and planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technologv. In 2021, he was chosen as one of Washingtonian magazine's "250 Most Influential People."