UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 36, Page 5
July 9, 1992
Top cop; Bunting appointed national director

     Steve Bunting, assistant director of public safety in charge of
southern Delaware operations, has been named executive director of the
American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers (ASLET), an
international, professional organization that has grown from 4 to
almost 4,000 members since its founding in 1987.
     Its membership includes not only police officers, but  attorneys,
criminal justice professors, security officers, corrections personnel,
administrators, educators and others involved in the law enforcement
field.
     "Our approach is interdisciplinary, and we offer a smorgasbord of
programs at our training seminars," Bunting said. "These range from
firearms training and defensive tactics to computer use in law
enforcement. There are also specialized courses on such topics as
non-verbal communication, training management, legal issues in
training and the use of psychics in helping to solve crimes."
     Bunting said it is important that ASLET keeps abreast of new
issues in law enforcement training. Some of the current areas are
multicultural sensitivity training, victims' rights and the use of
force and high-speed chases. An upcoming trend is the consolidation of
police forces. "In many areas of the country, police forces overlap
each other, and in these difficult economic times, are  joining
together as single units," Bunting said.
     ASLET began seven years ago at an Ohio Peace Officer Training
Academy. Bunting and three other instructors decided there was a need
for a professional organization for law enforcement trainers,
educators and administrators. The group contacted others, and about 30
founding members provided seed money to launch the venture.
     "The previous organization was too narrow in scope, concentrating
on defensive tactics, and we felt there were many other issues to be
addressed," Bunting said.
     The success of ASLET, which has become a respected and effective
international organization with members in Europe, Hong Kong , Africa,
Australia, Venezuela and other parts of the world, has shown the need
for such an organization, he said.
     The first director, Ed Nowicki, assisted by his wife, Diane, ran
the organization in the beginning from their dining room table in
Wisconsin. ASLET operations are no longer a cottage industry, and the
organization, which moved to Delaware when Bunting became executive
director in January, rents office space from the University in Lewes
and has a professional staff.
     Bunting has played an active role in the organization since its
founding. He was responsible for incorporating ASLET in Delaware in
1987 and in securing tax-exempt status for the organization from the
Internal Revenue Service.
     As its current director, he publishes The ASLET Journal and
arranges the annual training seminar, which will be held in Reno next
year.
     He also is developing a clearing house of information about law
enforcement. "Most libraries have inadequate materials, and we
regularly receive requests from researchers, attorneys and others," he
said.
     Another project is creating a computerized network and referral
system of law enforcement instructors, to handle requests for their
services more efficiently.
     "ASLET is a growing organization which has received recognition
from other police associations and law enforcement publications, and
it provides an important service in the law enforcement field,"
Bunting       said.
                                        -Sue Swyers Moncure