Dilip K. Das, Ph.D., Founding President of the International Police Executive Symposium, IPES Your International Police Executive Symposium (IPES) is just going on. The theme is: Global Issues In Contemporary Policing. Could you please name two of them? International Police Executive Symposium is held every year in a different country with a theme chosen by our hosts, which are usually the national police/ministries of interior or justice of a nation. This year our 23rd Annual Meeting will be hosted by the Ministry of Interior and Hungarian National Police. Under the theme of Global Issues in Contemporary Policing we will explore: 1. Collaboration between police research and practice. Policing has been traditionally based on rule of thumb policy. Our goal is for police to make use of research. 2. Multicultural Policing-the world has become diverse with many countries having expansive cultural minorities. Almost every country now has a migrant population and we must use police to ensure human rights - the rights to healthcare, education, prosperity, etc. Why is it so important for police researchers and practitioners to meet face-to-face at your symposium? IPES was created almost twenty five years ago because of my own experience as both a police practitioner and then as a criminal justice academic/researcher. What I realized is how crucial it is for practitioners and researchers to begin a dialogue if we want to have better police. Traditionally, the relationship between police practitioners and police researchers is characterized with mistrust. Practitioners believe researchers don’t know anything about the “real world“ and practitioners don’t think police know how to do their jobs well. We aim to break down those barriers through conversation but most importantly collaboration - writing papers together, presenting panels, etc. We aim at helping to develop thinking police leaders and practice-oriented researchers. The International Police Executive Symposium (IPES) brings police researchers and practitioners together to facilitate cross-cultural, international and interdisciplinary exchanges for the enrichment of the policing profession. It encourages discussions and writing on challenging topics of contemporary importance through an array of initiatives including conferences and publications. http://www.ipes.info | ||||||