The July conference had a definite French Flavour at one of Canada’s largest and most important cities, Montreal. Bordering the majestic St. Lawrence River, Montreal is a thriving culture center, with many historic monuments and prominent museums. During our July 27^th to 31^st stay, the city’s streets were alive with festivals and artistic events. The conference hotel, the Queen Elizabeth, was located just minutes from beautiful Old Montreal and had its own subway station for more avenues to explore the wonders of this municipality.

Thanks to our conference host, the Montreal Urban Police Department, conference attendees received first hand the city’s unique spirit and culinary perfection. They hosted a reception on Thursday night with entertainment provided by the Police Department Band and a feast fit for royalty!

Montreal marked the first meeting with the new format of three days of training instead of the usual two. The conference started on Wednesday with advanced registration along with Police Accreditation Coalitions (PACs) meetings for State Agencies Accreditation Coalition (SAAC) and Coalition/Network Presidents delegates. The training included Introduction to Accreditation and Certification Processes, Accreditation Managers Training Parts 1 and 2, Accreditation Proofs-"Use of Canned Software," and Program Manager Roundtable.

Thursday morning began with opening remarks from Executive Director Sylvester Daughtry, at the Welcoming Session, followed by a full day of training. Commission staff made a number of presentations, with the remainder of the workshops supplemented by visiting presenters. They included: Accreditation Managers Training Part 1 & 2 (Sergeant Jennifer Colvin, Burlington (VT) Police Department and Sue Wales, Salisbury (NC) Police Department); Accreditation Proofs, "Use of Canned Software" (Captain Gary Adams, Morris Township (NJ) Police Department); Introduction to Communications Accreditation (Robert Greenlaw, Northwest Bergen (NJ) Central Dispatch); 1.3 Use of Force (Sergeant Sean Kelly, Durham (NH) Police Department); JTA Development Parts 1 & 2 (Chief Michael French, Goffstown (NH) Police Department and Lieutenant David Todd, Dover (NH) Police Department); The Role of the CEO in the Accreditation Process (Chief Dick Scott, Brandon (Manitoba, Canada) Police Service); Workplace Violence (Chief Gary Margolis and Doctor Penny Shtull, University of Vermont), Advanced Canine Detection Panel (Lieutenant Steve Lark, Savannah River Site (SC) Law Enforcement Division), and Accreditation Manager Discussion Panel (Director Gary Frazee, Volusia County (FL) Sheriff’s Office, Moderator).

Friday events started with opening remarks from Commission Chair William Miller. Chair Miller called the meeting to order and introduced Commissioner John LaFlamme, Police Chief of Lethbridge, (Alberta, Canada), who welcomed those in attendance to Montreal. Chair Miller asked for a moment of silence in respect for the July 29th shooting in Atlanta that killed 12 individuals and for all officers, deputies and constables recently killed or injured in the line of duty. He then invited several Montreal dignitaries to the podium. Deputy Mayor Pierre Lepointe and Montreal Urban Police Department Deputy Director Serge Malanche welcomed the conference attendees and encouraged everyone to participate in the local fare the city offered. Chair Miller introduced Bob Jarret, Membership Director of APCO-International, and Chris Fischer, chair of the task force of APCO-CALEA Communications Accreditation Program, to stand and be recognized. Nancy Maiden, Vice-Chair of the State Agency Accreditation Coalition and accreditation manager for the Virginia State Police, then presented former CALEA Executive Director Dick Kitterman with a plaque in recognition of his contribution to the law enforcement community. Executive Director Daughtry was introduced. He thanked the Montreal officials and invited the attendees to participate in the various committee meetings, training sessions and presentations being offered.

Following the opening session, the Commission adjourned to conduct its business. Attendees had the option of attending committee meetings or partaking in additional training. The training topics included: Advances in Forensic Science (Dr. Henry Lee, Commissioner of Public Safety, State of Connecticut) and National Drug Information Center (Director Michael Horn, National Drug Intelligence Center).

On Friday afternoon, the full Commission reconvened to receive the following committee reports:

Corporate Affairs Committee approved the Denver minutes and the Staff Salary Survey Report. The FY 2000 Preliminary Budget Report was reviewed and accepted.

Outreach Committee approved the minutes from Denver, discussed the CALEA conference exhibition program, accepted a proposal to provide "seed money" to conference host agencies, and choose the cities as finalists for the meeting sites in 2002. The March meeting will be in the Far West Region in either Eugene (OR), Portland (OR) or Spokane, (WA). The Midwest July meeting city will be selected from Cincinnati (OH), Cleveland (OH) and Milwaukee (WI). Finalist cities for the Southern Region November meeting are Birmingham (AL), Jacksonville (FL), or Virginia Beach (VA). The final city selection for the 2002 meetings will be made at the Atlanta meeting in November.

Standards Review & Interpretations Committee approved their minutes from Denver and accepted the 96 draft "Core Standards" from the State Accreditation Task Force Committee.

20^th Anniversary Committee updated the Atlanta (GA) conference anniversary celebration. Plans include a keynote speaker for Friday and a Saturday pre-banquet reception to recognize past and current Commissioners. (For more details, see article titled "20^th Anniversary").

State Accreditation Committee reported on their progress. Committee Chair Commissioner Stephen Monier outlined the concept of a joint relationship between state and CALEA accreditation and the make up of the task force committee. More information is contained in a separate article "State Programs Report."

Agency review hearings were held on Saturday morning, with four committees of Commissioners reviewing a total of 39 agencies: 31 for reaccreditation, seven for initial accreditation, and one certification. Each agency was recognized and awarded its certificate at the Saturday night Celebration Banquet.

The Celebration Banquet concluded with a brief presentation by Chris Fischer, executive board member of APCO-International and 20^th Anniversary Chair Commissioner Keith Chadwell. Fischer presented staff member Jim Brown with the APCO Presidential Plaque of Recognition for his efforts in developing the Public Safety Communications Accreditation Program. Commissioner Chadwell gave a special invitation to all in attendance to join the celebration of CALEA’s 20 years of service to law enforcement at the next conference in Atlanta (GA).

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