By Tom Palmer, Law Enforcement Strategic Relationship Manager, Thomson Reuters

01 Jun 2012Investigative Insights

Last month, I attended the spring 2012 Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies (ASCIA) conference in Madison, WI.  We are a proud sponsor of this important and vital association of law enforcement leadership.  This year’s spring conference was hosted by the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI).  Wisconsin DCI Administrator, Ed Wall, and his staff did a wonderful job of organizing and hosting this event.  Along with a golf outing and state capitol tour, there were sit down group dinners held on consecutive nights at the University of Wisconsin Alumni Lounge and the Wisconsin Governor’s mansion.  Both of these dinners took place on the shores of beautiful Lake Mendota.  The conference agenda was quite full and consisted of presentations on important topics, including:  Intelligence Integration in the U.S., cyber-security initiatives, the Adam Walsh Act, medical marijuana and legalization initiatives and other relevant issues.  Leaders from various federal and state agencies presented on these issues and more.

Left: ASCIA President, Ron Sloan of Colorado Bureau of Investigation Right: Tom Palmer

ASCIA fosters the open sharing of ideas and innovative approaches to improving public safety.  They work alongside other professional associations toward protecting and furthering issues that affect Law Enforcement and ultimately the safety of the citizens of this nation.  For example, on March 15, 2012, President Ron Sloan on behalf of ASCIA co-signed a letter addressed to the Majority and Minority Members of the House and Senate Subcommittees on Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) in support of the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) program and requested that funding be maintained at current levels in the FY 2013 appropriation bill.  There were 35 associations that signed the letter.  Amongst other things, these grant monies can be applied for and used by Law Enforcement agencies to finance or assist in financing Law Enforcement programs, prevention and education programs, planning, evaluation and technology improvement programs and more.

Looking forward to future association meetings and furthering our relationship.