Salisbury Police Chief Jerry Stokes and Deputy Chief Shon Barnes will present at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) annual conference in Chicago, Ill., Saturday, Oct. 26 - Tuesday, Oct. 29. The IACP Conference offers essential strategies, expert advice, and specific information that police agencies need to function at maximum effectiveness.
Chief Stokes will address attendees during the “Where do we go from here? Leadership response to violent crime” session as part of the Department of Justice (DOJ), Public Safety Partnership panel on Saturday, Oct. 26. He will also be among panelist discussing community engagement after a police critical incident on Tuesday, Oct. 29.
“It is a remarkable opportunity to be chosen to speak before an international audience of police executives to share our success story in Salisbury,” said Chief Stokes. “By sharing our community’s experience in recovering from a controversial officer-involved shooting and having great success reducing violent crime, I hope we can help others who may face or be facing similar issues. Our community has stepped up and has been recognized for the successes, which should assure everyone that we are making progress in Salisbury. We are a great place to live, work and play. This is also a chance to hear the experiences of other communities as we move forward to build on our current successes. We don’t provide service to our community in a vacuum, so we must constantly seek to find innovative ways to problem solve and be ahead of issues that may be coming. These conferences are intended to provide those opportunities to both learn and teach.”
Major Barnes along with co-researchers, Obed Magny, LaQuesia Love, and Tarrick McGuire, will host a session titled, “Community Engagement after a Critical Incident: Evaluating Secondary Trauma in Police Departments.” The session will educate participants on the relationship between secondary trauma and performance in police departments. Speakers will present an original mixed-methods research study on secondary trauma in two police agencies. The research was conducted by police officers with support from the National Institute of Justice LEADS Scholars Program.
“It is a huge honor to present at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference,” said Major Barnes. “We are excited to share some of our community policing strategies on such a world stage. I am proud of the work the Salisbury Police Department has done in regards to officer safety and wellness, and the strategies employed to heal our community after anti-police sentiments in 2017. We recognize there is much work to be done but we credit our officers and the community for working together to find solutions and common ground.”
Following Major Barnes’ presentation, Chief Stokes and City of Norman, Oklahoma, Police Officials will serve as panelists for the session.
IACP brings together law enforcement professionals from federal, state, county, local and tribal agencies to learn more about the latest research, practices and equipment available to officers. For more information about IACP, visit: www.theiacpconference.org.