Even in the face of the U.S. government shutdown, law enforcement around the world continued undeterred. The 120^thAnnual International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Conference and Law Enforcement Education and Technology Exposition will take place October 19-23, 2013 in Philadelphia.

A key event for law enforcement education, IACP 2013 topics will include everything from tracking officer injuries to understanding the power of social media.

One session we are especially excited about will be presented as part of the Chief Executive Track by Chief Todd Miller, Director of Public Safety at the Mankato Department of Public Safety, and his team.

This workshop will highlight strategies agencies are using to deal with mass shootings and individual crisis incidents. If you're attending IACP2013, join this session to learn how to prepare for the resulting media frenzy and develop a community response -Saturday, 10/19/2013 1:00PM -3:00PM, Room 115AB.

Community Policing Awards:

Once again this year, we are sponsoring the IACP Community Policing Awards competition and awards dinner. The competition honors those departments worldwide that have prevented and decreased crime and terrorism by partnering with the communities they serve. The winners and finalists will be honored and recognized next week.

Chief's Night:

We are also proud to sponsor the premier networking event of the IACP Conference - Chief's Night. It is being held in the Pennsylvania Convention Center's Grand Hall, Grand Ballroom and Overlook Cafe, and the Hard Rock Cafe. The Cisco reception will be held in the Field House Sports Bar. It's a great event that allows fellow officers from around the world to connect.

Visit us at Tait's Booth in the Expo Hall: 

Cisco will also be demonstrating the Instant Connect solution together with Tait at the Tait booth (#815 in the expo hall). Make sure to stop by and check out how this can help increase efficiency and drive faster mobile communications within your agency.

Blog Series: "Transforming Public Safety & Making Communities Safer Through Technology": 

Last, but not least, in conjunction with the conference, Cisco will also be running a thought leadership blog series focused on "Transforming public safety and making communities safer through technology" on the Cisco Government Blog site, with topics ranging from the Internet of Things and Public Safety to the Challenges of Being a Police Chief in an Environment of Multiple Devices. The series will run through the middle of November, and we'll post approximately two blogs per week. We'll also include resources as part of the series, such as our State & Local Government Survival Guide with valuable public safety assets, and information, such as the latest about Cisco's new IoT enabled solutions for public safety that provide for improved capabilities to support collaboration, interoperability and increased intelligence.

Attending IACP this year? Follow @CiscoGovt  for live updates and use the hashtag#IACP2013 -and let us know what you are most excited to see and hear at the event this year. Finally, make sure to stay tuned to the Cisco Government Blog site for the public safety blog series!