June, 2008

             "Mobilization of Our Resources"

As most of you know by now, I became FPCA President several months early when Chief Clark retired from Juno Beach on April 11th to start a new era in his policing career as Police Chief in Peachtree City, Georgia. We wish Skip well and thank him for his years of dedicated service to Florida law enforcement and the Florida Police Chiefs Association.

As I enter my term as your president, I reflect upon the eight years that it has been my privilege to be a part of this great organization. Early on, I was warmly welcomed by members and staff who by their actions created an atmosphere that fostered involvement and participation.

As your president, I want to continue and expand that atmosphere of participation because it is the strong involvement of our members that sustains the viability of our Association. Our Association exists to provide training, networking and professional development to our members. Its purpose is also to create a unity of action in all police matters pertaining to the prevention and detection of crime.

The Association strives to accomplish the first purpose by providing excellent training opportunities at both the Summer and Winter Conferences. This training not only includes subjects relating to contemporary policing issues and career development but also satisfies the mandatory hour requirement for police recertification. Executive development training and new and future Chiefs seminars offered in cooperation with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement fulfills the need to accommodate many members seeking to advance into police executive positions. If you are a member who is not taking advantage of these outstanding educational offerings, you are missing a tremendous opportunity for yourself and your staff.

The second part of why we exist as an Association is to advance all methods and strategies as they pertain to crime prevention and detection and do so with a unity of purpose. To that end, this is where we need the commitment and involvement of our members.

The heart and soul of this initiative is contained in our legislative program. While it is true that our Association has many valuable committees which bring together our efforts to positively affect Florida law enforcement, one of the most critical is the Legislative Committee. In the past several years, sponsors of Bills, people and agencies affected by those Bills and other interested parties have been calling on our Association to "weigh in" and lend support to those initiatives. Our legislative agenda is set by the Board of Directors but invariably we will be asked to take a position of support or opposition to Bills that "pop up" during session, seemingly out of nowhere.

Because of the increase in the legislative profile of our Association, in no small part because of the efforts of our lobbyist Frank Mayernick on our behalf, we have a real opportunity to make an impact and affect those matters that bear significantly on Florida law enforcement.

We cannot do it however without the involvement of our members. Our presence in Tallahassee during legislative session is so critical that our Association is poised to take significant measures to enhance the window of influence that has been opened for us by Mr. Mayernick.

To that end I will be creating a schedule for the eight week legislative session whereby a minimum of two Chiefs will commit to a day or days on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the session to walk the Capitol, meet with legislators and attend committee hearings on our behalf. This amounts to 24 total days with 48 positions on the schedule. Our Association has over 730 members, 260 of which are Chiefs of Police. We have the resources to create a strong influence on the direction of law enforcement in our State. The Association is showing its' commitment by budgeting funds to cover the majority of expenses incurred by these enumerated trips.

We all face significant financial issues in the months to come. The need for our involvement in the legislative process could not be at a more critical time. I hope you will all join me in having our faces seen and voices heard in Tallahassee.

In closing, I would be remiss if I didn't express to all my colleagues in the Association how honored I am to represent you for the next year. I thank you for the trust that you have shown by allowing me to serve as your President. I know that as we enter what is sure to be a very difficult period of time, it is imperative that we mobilize our members, our most valuable resource, to have a voice in the future of our great State. I thank you all in advance for that consideration and I hope to see you at our Summer Conference at the PGA Resort in Palm Beach Gardens on June 22nd for what is sure to be a great training and information sharing opportunity.

Chief Gerald Monahan