Starting a Chapter
Being part of an IALEIA chapter is one way to get more out of our international organization. It takes work and motivation, but once you get started, you will find it is a great way to network with other IALEIA members in your area.To begin, contact the Chapter Director. The Chapter Director will assist you with identifying other IALEIA members in your area and will supply you with a copy of the Chapter Bylaws under which chapters must operate. A chapter must have a minimum of TEN (10) IALEIA members from the same geographic region.
The Chapter Charter serves to outline your purpose in creating a chapter, and details how a chapter would benefit local members and IALEIA. Once the IALEIA Board awards the charter, you must hold elections in accordance with the chapter bylaws. At this point, you can apply for $250 in start-up costs. Many chapters have taken the initiative and sold mugs and t-shirts to shore up their treasuries.
Once you have established your chapter, you need to schedule meetings for your members. Some chapters meet every other month, others meet quarterly; you will have to make this decision based on what you and your members can facilitate. Chapters must submit annual activity reports to the board, as well as yearly financial reports for tax purposes (regardless of financial activity, the report is required). You are encouraged to reach out to chapters which are already established for ideas and guidance. The entire Executive Board is made up of accessible individuals, most of whom also belong to chapters, so there will always be someone to help out.
Hopefully this will encourage new chapters to emerge where there is a concentration of analysts who would benefit from this level of organization. Good luck!
For more information on chapters, please contact the IALEIA Chapter Director.
*(Note: chapters must be comprised of members within a geographical region; chapters that are found to be exclusionary will have their charters revoked under the provisions of the IALEIA Bylaws, Article IX, Section 6, Subsection B.)
Frequently Asked Questions
An IALEIA Chapter is a part of the IALEIA association; each one is composed of current IALEIA members from a specific geographical region.
Visit the IALEIA website and refer to the map and/or the table of chapters.
Find at least ten IALEIA members from at least two different law enforcement agencies in your geographical area who are committed to working together to make a chapter a success.
It is preferred that chapters cover a state (USA/CAN) or a country… However, the decision about the chapter creation depends on many issues that are reviewed by the International Board.
If you decide to be involved in chapter creation, both the Chapter Director and Membership Director can provide you with list of current members from your area and advice on the chapter size and location.
Contact the Chapter or Membership Director – they will provide you with all necessary documents – including bylaws and useful hints/tricks for more information. After this, call an initial meeting (which can also use electronic media – like Skype or teleconferencing) and elect Chapter Officers. All regular members of IALEIA are eligible to vote and run for office.
Chapters elect a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary and a Treasurer.
Chapter creation should be confirmed with a report about the meeting. Moreover, the Chapter president is obliged to report the activities and financial status to the Board once a year. The report covers the calendar year and the form is provided by the Chapter Director at the beginning of every year.
Chapter bylaws frame the chapter activity. The way it is achieved depends on the creativity, devotion and flexibility of the chapter members. The Chapter is entitled to obtain and hold their own funds which can be spent for necessary events – like trainings, seminars, and meetings.
Email the Chapter Director chapterdirector@ialeia.org, and/or the Membership Director, membership@ialeia.org.