Ah! Las Vegas… Gleaming from the haze of the Mojave Desert, Las Vegas is one of the most dynamic, spectacular cities on earth. Our conference hotel was the Riviera Hotel & Casino. Situated in the heart of the original strip, the Riviera not only provides a full state of the art casino, but four-world class shows for all present. In addition, a feature movie, "3,000 Miles to Graceland," featuring Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell was filming in the casino during our stay. Helicopter landings, car chases, and gun battles filled the air during the wee hours of the morning. What a way to start your day! Our hosts for this fantastic meeting were the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the North Las Vegas Police Department, the City of Las Vegas Detention and Enforcement, the Henderson Police Department, the Boulder City Police Department and the Nevada Police Accreditation Coalition (NV-PAC). The members of the Executive Host Committee were: Lieutenants James Chaney and Chris Hoye (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department), Ms. Connie Holtman-Spangler (North Las Vegas Police Department), Ms. Lorenna Singer (City of Las Vegas Department of Detention and Enforcement), and Ms. Pamela Goodman (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department). The Commission would like to personally thank them for their wonderful hospitality to all in attendance. Kudos on a job well done!

Wednesday morning began the first day of the conference. The day started with advanced registration and State Agencies Accreditation Coalition (SAAC) and Coalition/Network Presidents Police Accreditation Coalition (PACs) meetings. Our hosts provided each registrant a bag filled with gifts and trinkets of the Las Vegas experience. At the Welcoming Session, Executive Director Sylvester Daughtry, Jr., made opening remarks and announcements to attendees. The training schedule began immediately afterwards with a full schedule of workshops that extended through Friday afternoon. Commission staff made a number of presentations, with the remainder of the workshops supplemented by visiting presenters. They included: Law Enforcement Organizational Theory (Capt. Stavros Anthony, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department), Diplomatic Immunity (Mr. Clay Hays, Chief of Community Relations, US Department of State); Media Relations in Law Enforcement (Officer Steven Meriwether, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department); Tourist Safety in Las Vegas (Mr. Larry Rose, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department); Line of Duty Death Policy Development (Mr. George Carrillo, Concerns of Police Survivors Inc.); Gang Behavior in the New Millennium (Det. Dan Long, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department); Forensic Science in Law Enforcement (Dr. Berch E. Henry, Ph.D., Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department), Gaming Issues (Mr. James Edwards, Nevada Gaming Commission); and Teamwork in the Millennium (Coach John Robinson, University of Nevada-Las Vegas).

At the Opening Session on Friday, Commission Chair William Miller, called the meeting to order. Colors were presented by a combined color guard from the host agencies. Sheriff Jerry Keller (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department), Ms. Virginia Valentine (Las Vegas City Manager), and Chief Mike Mayberry (Henderson Police Department) welcomed attendees to Las Vegas. Executive Director Daughtry was introduced and he invited the attendees to participate in the various committee meetings, training sessions, and presentations being offered. Following Commission Chair William Miller’s introduction of the 2000 Board of Commissioners, the Opening Session was adjourned.

The full Commission reconvened on Friday afternoon to receive committee reports.

Corporate Affairs Committee approved the Atlanta minutes and accepted the 1999 Annual and Audit Reports. (Copies of the 1999 Annual and Audit Report are on the Commission’s website at www.calea.org.)

Outreach Committee approved the minutes from Atlanta and selected the regions for the year 2003: March-Region 5 (South); July-Region 2 (Northern Midwest); and November-Region 3 (Southern Midwest). Also approved were new guidelines on Commission/Host Agency relationship.

Standards Review and Interpretation Committee approved Atlanta minutes, recommended proposed standard 26.1.9 (employee early warning system) be sent to field for comments, and approved adoption of revised standards 42.1.2 (case-screening system criteria), and 72.9.6 (temporary holding area security).

State Accreditation Committee reported their progress on the development of the standards manuals and the contracts for the Alliance and Recognition Programs.

Agency review hearings were held on Saturday morning, with four committees of Commissioners reviewing a total of 49 agencies: 32 for reaccreditation, 15 for initial accreditation, one re-certification and one certification. Each agency was recognized and awarded its certificate at the Saturday night Celebration Banquet. Chair Miller recognized special banquet guests: Bill Matthews, the Executive Director of the Community Policing Consortium in Washington, D.C., and a past Executive Director of NOBLE; Jackie Barrett, Sheriff of Fulton County (GA) and past President of NOBLE, Mitch Brown, Chief of Raleigh (NC) Police Department and a board of officer member of PERF; and past CALEA Commissioner Gary Leonard, Chief of the West Sacramento (CA) Police Department.