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YOU DON’T HAVE TO EAT DONUTS TO BELONG TO ILEETA

 By Arthur G. Sharp

  You don’t have to be a champion donut eater to become a member of the newly formed ILEETA (International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association) – but you do have to be a professional law enforcement trainer. Membership in ILEETA gives qualified donut eaters a chance to prove their prowess at the organization’s annual International Training Conference (formerly the NCJTC Use-of-Force Conference & Expo). 

ILEETA is the brainchild of several longtime professional law enforcement trainers who saw a need to create a new organization which is dedicated solely to educating and training members of the criminal justice community throughout the world. Their goal is serious, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be some levity along the way. For example, the organization sponsored a donut eating contest at its conference in Chicago in April 2003. The contest, fittingly sponsored by Dunkin’ Donuts^®, will be an annual fixture at the ILEETA conferences. One hundred percent of the proceeds go to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund in Washington, DC. The contest will not be the focus, however – the focus is training.

Ship’s Captain

There is no doubt that training is at the heart of law enforcement’s success. As Ed Nowicki, the founder and permanent Executive Director of ILEETA, puts it, “We have to keep our officers safe. The educators and trainers are the people who do that.”

Training has been Nowicki’s lifelong mission. A lot of folks may recognize him as a founder of ASLET, the American Society for Law Enforcement Training. His involvement in the group’s evolution was highlighted by the Ed Nowicki Lifetime Achievement Award he received in 2000. But, as the years went by, Nowicki and some of his counterparts became dissatisfied with the direction ASLET was taking. So, he and a group of them got together to form ILEETA.

Why Was ILEETA Formed?

A quick glance at the ILEETA Advisory Board suggests that Nowicki was not alone in identifying the need for a new training organization. Four other members were formerly members of ASLET’s Board: Larry Smith, Joe Truncale, Phil Messina, and Mike Brave. The question is why they wanted to start their own association.

“There are some things we view as important in training which others might not,” Nowicki explained. “For example, we want to stay away from political issues and certification of instructors. We want to place our emphasis on training. We want to give officers things, not take them away. Law enforcement officers deserve the best training they can get and we intend to provide it for them.”

“Members can reap the benefits of ILEETA membership without the burden of organizational politics,” he opined. “If the organization were structured in the same manner as many other training organizations, in essence, this would be reinventing the broken wheel. We want to make our ‘wheel’ better built and able to go faster and farther than any other organization,” he concluded. 

“We exist to serve our members and we will do all that we can to see that we always keep that focus,” Nowicki averred. “We will not accept organizational politics and bickering, but we will encourage diverse opinions relating to law enforcement education or training. And, we will provide numerous benefits at the lowest cost available to our members, all of whom must be involved in the delivery of education or training to the criminal justice community.”

Who Can Join?

Membership in ILEETA will be select. Members must be valid educators, trainers, supervisors, or managers of criminal justice education or training. “There are no associate members or student members,” Nowicki stressed. “Not just any law enforcement officer or criminal justice professional can become a member. We did not form ILEETA to get members just for the sake of membership numbers or as an added source of income. We are very selective in accepting members. And, it will stay that way for the sake of professionalism.”

“We want to tap into the best law enforcement people who are out there, as trainers, members, and advisors,” Nowicki explained. He placed special emphasis on the makeup of the board. “The only people on the board will be those who can offer something,” he noted. “We want the movers and shakers, people who can get things done.” And, getting things done is exactly what is happening so far.

A Strong Beginning

“We went ‘live’ on March 28, 2003,” Nowicki said. “The activity has already been tremendous. We have heard from a large number of individuals and corporations who have expressed interest in becoming a part of our organization. In fact, we had one inquiry from a person in Italy within a few hours of our inception.” Word does spread fast when a new law enforcement training association with a clearly defined, limited, and honorable mission begins operations. “ILEETA is starting as an honorable group,” Nowicki stated. “We will continue that way, not only for our individual members, but for our corporate members, as well.”

Corporate Donations, Not Dollars

The organization will have corporate members, but not just to raise money. In fact, Nowicki emphasized, “We don’t really want hard dollars.” ILEETA prefers the donation of products or services which can be translated into benefits for members. For example, a publisher of law enforcement magazines can provide free or discounted subscriptions to members. Several publishers are already involved in this process. For example, POLICE and SECURITY NEWS, LAW and ORDER, The Use of Force Journal, and American Police Beat are offering free subscriptions, albeit limited in some cases. Others, such as Police, Law Enforcement News, and The Police Marksman, offer discounts and special subscription rates. There are other benefits as well.

ILEETA members will have access to bulletin boards; chat rooms; the ILEETA Digest, a quarterly periodical; and the ILEETA e-Bulletin, a special noncommercial E-mail which provides access to up-to-the-minute information which can help them perform their jobs better. And, they will receive low tuition for the annual International Training Conference which will be held in Chicago in the Spring of each year. (The association’s first conference is scheduled for April 13-17, 2004, near O’Hare Airport.) “We chose Chicago as the site because it is in the heartland of America,” Nowicki acknowledged. “We want to attract as many members as we can to our conference and Chicago is relatively easy to get to from most members’ homes.” He believes firmly that attendance at ILEETA’s training conference will pay off handsomely for members.

“Attendance at the conference is more than just sitting in at the various sessions,” Nowicki noted. “The conference gives members an opportunity to network with their counterparts and to profit from incidental learning.” He puts great stock in incidental learning, i.e., sitting with other trainers and law enforcement personnel to discuss the latest developments in their field. “Our annual conference will not be primarily for social purposes,” Nowicki avowed. “We will train hard. We want to overload our members with formal learning and outside learning. We want everyone to go away from our conference with a great deal of new information to enhance their training efforts.” That, in turn, will be one of the biggest benefits of membership in ILEETA.

Conference Instructors

Certainly, the success of a training conference is dependent (to a great degree) on the quality of the instructors. Nowicki cited several criteria which will be applied to the selection of instructors. “We will select a committee to choose the instructors,” he said. “Among the criteria we will look at are the potential benefits to a large group of conference participants, the instructors’ reputations, the organization of their proposals, etc.” The criteria are not limited to those factors, though. Whatever criteria are used, the selection process is aimed at attracting the best instructors available in an effort to complete ILEETA’s mission, which is to do what it can to improve learning.

Nowicki believes firmly in the need for constant learning among law enforcement trainers and personnel. “One is dependent on the other,” he pointed out. “As Francis Bacon said, ‘Knowledge is power.’ ” That idea is reflected in ILEETA’s mission and organizational motto: “Wisdom and Courage Through Knowledge and Skill.”

The Future Looks Bright

To be sure, Nowicki and the association’s advisors have high hopes for ILEETA’s future. “We are a sleeping giant waiting to be awakened,” he said. “We view ourselves as a ‘nuts and bolts’ training group which strives for quality, not quantity. Our efforts are focused on networking and incidental learning which we believe is every bit as important as formal training. Simply put, we encourage a formal professional attitude – and collegiality.”

Nowicki sees that collegiality as an offshoot of trust which will be integral to the association’s success. “ILEETA takes a very strong position that we trust the men and women who train and educate those who protect society. We will never lose that trust,” he vowed. That being the case, ILEETA is an organization in which its members and potential members can put their trust for quality training – and the promise of an occasional donut along the way.

How to Join

For more information about ILEETA, call (262)279-7879; fax (262)279-5758; write to PO Box 1003, Twin Lakes, WI 53181-1003 USA; or visit the organization’s Web site at www.ileeta.org.

About the Author:  Arthur G. Sharp is a freelance writer who regularly contributes to POLICE and SECURITY NEWS.