2015-16 Diversity Transformation Fund Award Recipients […]
James Acker, J. Frank Wiley, & Robert Worden
Fair and Impartial Policing: A Training and Research Initiative to Identify and Guard Against Implicit Biases
Police Training/Implicit Bias
http://www.albany.edu/diversityandinclusion/diversity-transformation-fund-awards-2015-16.php [emphasis added]
There’s AMPLE evidence Wiley’s incompetent and corrupt and it’s not at all hard to find. No scholars in their right mind would work with him. But OK, it seems Wiley and Worden are buds and that their friendship transcends logic, fairness, and impartiality.
When it comes to reaccrediting the SUNY Albany "Police," Worden makes the motion to have his bud Wiley’s corrupt and incompetent police department - at Worden’s own university - reaccredited (rather than, say, Worden recusing himself due to obvious potential conflicts of interest). Motion passes unanimously (perhaps with Worden's own vote?), despite ample evidence it should never have been accredited in the first place. Wiley accepts the reaccreditation certificate. Despite this obvious sham, Worden’s specialty is supposedly matters of police ethics!
[Law Enforcement Accreditation Agency] COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT:
Sergeant Louis Dini – Suffolk County Police Department, PCNY
Chief Marvin Fischer – SUNY Police Farmingdale
Chief Mark Henderson – Brighton Town Police Department
Chief Charles Koenig – Ballston Spa Police Department
Sheriff Gary Maha - Genesee County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Thomas Marano – Orleans County Sheriff’s Office
Sheriff Philip Povero - Ontario County Sheriff’s Office
Supervisor Edmond Theobald – Town of Manlius
Mr. Richard Wells – Police Conference of New York
Robert E. Worden, PhD - Associate Professor, University at Albany School of Criminal Justice
[…]
SUNY Police Albany
Chief J. Frank Wiley
Deputy Chief Jennifer Fila
Deputy Chief Aran Mull
Inspector Jennifer Baldwin
Inspector Paul Burlingame
Captain William Yankowski
*Sergeant Steven Grassmann
[…]
SUNY Police Albany – Dr. Worden made a motion to reaccredit the agency and Chief Fischer seconded the motion. Chief J. Frank Wiley accepted the Certificate of Accreditation and Sergeant Steven Grassmann was awarded the John Kimball O’Neil Certificate of Achievement as the program manager. how to have conflicts of interest in plain sight and get away with it
Motion carried – 11 ayes, 0 nay
http://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/pio/open-meetings/9-8-2016-leaac/LEACPacket.pdf [emphasis added]
Rob Worden is a political scientist whose research revolves around questions about the accountability and responsiveness of criminal justice institutions to the public. [...] Most of his research has focused on police behavior and police programs and reforms [...] Professor Worden is currently engaged in studies of: (1) police legitimacy, procedural justice, and accountability; (2) police misconduct and early intervention systems; (3) citizen oversight of the police; [emphasis added]
http://www.albany.edu/scj/robert_worden.php
Fair and impartial policing training was afforded to UPD through a grant created by Distinguished Teaching Professor, James Acker and Distinguished Professor Emeritus, David Bayley, and funded through UAlbany’s Office of Diversity and inclusion. UPD is also backed by a research-based component: an advisory committee, chaired by School of Criminal Justice Assistant Dean Diana Mancini and Associate Professor Robert Worden, an expert scholar in criminal justice accountability and responsiveness.
[Wiley said,] "Of course, there is no guarantee there will be public acknowledgement of what we do, but accreditation and our other accomplishments demonstrate that the best possible policing is being done here." [emphasis added]
http://www.albany.edu/news/71079.php
I think the accreditation just goes to show that the accreditation process is seriously flawed! Ask Wiley's victims, those he's threatened, or who he's backed threats against, or those he's chosen not to help, and I think quite a different story would be told. Heck, Wiley's own Assistant Chief had claimed in court that he'd been improperly trained. Setting aside the possibility that the court testimony was false, there's some of that easy-to-find evidence right there.
Paul Berger testified that he has been the Assistant Chief of the UPD since 2002. He is the night commander for the afternoon and overnight shifts. He was aware of the decoy bag operation. He was not aware of the provisions of the Personal Property law prior to the use of the decoy bag on December 13, 2007.
http://vertumnus.courts.state.ny.us/claims/html/2012-032-004.html
As I'd written the former head of the SUNY Police, R. Bruce McBride:
University at Albany Police Department Chief J. "Frank" Wiley was not named in the decision at all, but is brought up here due to some sections of the SUNY Police Manual referring to his responsibilities, including one responsibility specifically for training officers:
§ 1.03 "Chief of the University Police Department, responsible for the command of the department"
§ 5.10 "The chief of university police is responsible for the planning, directing, coordinating, controlling and staffing all of the department activities to include the protection of people, personal property, state property and equipment and the enforcement of laws and regulation within its legal jurisdiction. The chief is also responsible for officer training and documentation of such training." [emphasis added]
How is it that Mr. Wiley had failed to be responsible, for so many years, for training Mr. Burlingame, Mr. Berger, and (one presumes since he's also named in the decision) Christopher T. Farina, and perhaps others?
Wiley had either failed to be responsible for the training of his Assistant Chief, or Wiley had been responsible for the training of his Assistant Chief but failed to have his Assistant Chief prosecuted for lying in court testimony.
"Thank you for bringing this to my attention", McBride had replied, but of course he was not at all interested in rooting out systemic corruption in a corrupt system he'd helped forge....
The State University of New York University Police, in concert with the School of Criminal Justice at the University at Albany, today announced the formation of an Academic Advisory Committee to assist the SUNY University Police in evaluating emerging policies and practices related to law enforcement for the university system.
Police Commissioner R. Bruce McBride said that this is an exciting undertaking in terms of improving University law enforcement services to the SUNY community, especially in light of national police issues related to the use of force and interactions between police and community members. [...]
Members of the Committee include faculty from the University at Albany's nationally ranked School of Criminal Justice -- James Acker, David Bayley (Ret.), and Robert Worden, all experts in community policing.
Joining the academics are State University Chiefs of Police J. Frank Wiley of UAlbany, Tim Faughnan of Binghamton University, Gerald Schoenle of the University at Buffalo, Stony Brook University's Robert Lenahan, and Deputy Commissioner Paul Berger of the SUNY University Police [formerly of the UAlbany Police].
"SUNY, UAlbany Form Advisory Committee to Evaluate Campus Police Practices and Policies." June 11, 2015. https://www.suny.edu/suny-news/press-releases/june-2015/6-11-15-police/suny-ualbany-form-advisory-committee-to-evaluate-campus-police-practices-policies.html
“The way we do policing is fundamentally ineffective,” [Wiley] said.
His suggestions were to create a concrete code of “officer behavior” and a policy to enforce this code, to allow for system complaints, to increase transparency, to conduct climate surveys, and to incorporate direct observations through the use of body cameras. [...]
Dr. James Acker, also a professor at UAlbany’s School of Criminal Justice, was present as well, and spoke about the importance of choosing police officers correctly.
“[The police] are special people because we entrust them with special powers,” he said.
Because of this, he said that we need to look at what qualifications they should meet, what kind of diversity a force needs to be successful, and what kind of training and dialogues the officers need to have to earn the trust of their community. He also said that conversations such as these were beneficial for creating trust and respect on both sides.
“When we do have these conversations, we’ll find that we hold a lot more in common than what separates us,” he said.
http://www.albanystudentpress.net/ualbany-sponsored-police-forum-sparks-discussion-about-community-police-relations/
Mr. Acker seemingly has either never looked into Wiley's credentials or he's aware they're practically nonexistent and he's just being hypocritical. As for "conversations," Wiley's not big into them. He ignores calls for help from the public, refuses to answer journalists' questions, lies when he does speak or write, and is willing to back threats against freedom of speech and facilitate crime. What a sham that forum was!
