"Transparency In Our Process"Strict standards of accountability and transparency.
"Compliance with New York State statutes related to conflict of interest, as well as the SUNY Board of Trustees’ policies."
NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Proposal. University at Albany. September 2012. 18.http://www.albany.edu/news/images/nysuny2020pptfinal.pdf
Wow. That took some chutzpah.
Can I interest you in purchasing the Thaddeus Kosciusko bridge?
The University at Albany Police Department's Annual Safety Report/Clery Act Report for 2011 http://police.albany.edu/ASR.shtml on page 58 states:
"The DCJS Sex Offender Registry site may be found on the web (See the link to the right)"
Since there's no link to the right within the PDF that I can see, it seems to be copied and pasted from elsewhere, perhaps from the website.
There is in fact an older version of the registry still on Albany.edu that contains the same above text. It has no date on it, but from the appearance of the page and links on the page that have since been renamed, it may date from between September 2006 and 2009. Because of one of the people named, late 2007 might be the earliest possible date.
That page suffers from nearly the same flaw described in the last blog post, University at Albany Police Department mathematics: 3=4=6. Part of it is consistent:
"There are currently two (2) registered sex offenders enrolled at the University. The following Information has been released:"
However, it then goes on to list three (3) offenders. Thus 2=3. Counting even just to three, sadly, appears to prove too challenging?
Possibly far more care should be taken in writing the Clery Act Report. The NYS Comptroller has after all found that UAlbany has had a number of Clery Act violations in the past:
"DiNapoli: SUNY Colleges Inconsistently Reporting Crime Statistics" http://www.osc.state.ny.us/press/releases/oct08/102208.htm
"Compliance with the Clery Act" http://osc.state.ny.us/audits/allaudits/093009/07s121.htm
"Compliance with the Clery Act (Follow-Up Report)" http://osc.state.ny.us/audits/allaudits/093010/09f46.htm
"'We certainly comply with Clery to the letter,' said UAlbany Police Chief J. Frank Wiley. 'We will at times go beyond Clery, when the circumstances warrant.'"Parry, "Crime and college; Off-campus incidents aren't always reported." Albany Times Union. May 11, 2008: A1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6550616
EDIT: The undated (ca. 2007-2008) Sexual Offender Registry announcing "two (2)" sexual offenders that then listed three (3) now redirects to UPD's main page. I think it was done around October 22 or October 23, 2012. Google's last cache of it was Oct 14, 2012 18:39:32 GMT. I know it hadn't been changed as of October 19, 2012. Baby steps, I guess.
I'm not sure I care to link the University at Albany's Sex Offender Registry. Many students, students' parents, faculty, staff, etc. are, I suspect, unaware there even is such a registry.
Nevertheless, it's important to note a problem concerning the registry: not regarding the offenders, but the registry itself. It states the following:
"There are currently three (4) registered sex offenders enrolled or working at the University. The following Information has been released:"
Basic observation here: "three (4)" would seem to indicate that not much attention is paid to the registry, and not much care put into it. It ought to be "three (3)" or "four (4)".
Really it ought to be "six (6)", because that's the actual number of sex offenders who are listed there.
The copyright, in light gray tiny text at the bottom left of the Sex Offender Registry page states "© 2009 University at Albany." Has the registry not been updated in three years? Templates from 2009 appear in lines 7, 8, 9, 10, 24, 358, 359, 360 of the page's source code. Line 374 has, surrounded by html code for line breaks, "© 2009 University at Albany". While the templates from 2009 may not have been updated in three years and thus be fine, line 374 not being updated - that seems bad.
Possibly it really hasn't been updated in three years, as some of the people listed there aren't in the UA Mail directory. If they're no longer at the university, their privacy rights are possibly being violated. Likewise, the university (and wider) community is being misinformed about their presence.I'd written the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, the Office of the New York State Comptroller, Albany County Comptroller Michael F. Conners, II, and others on September 27, 2012.
The subject was "Sex Offender Registry and Clery Act issues?"
I'd noted in that initial post problems with conflicting information in (1) the University at Albany Sexual Offender Registry and (2) the University at Albany's lists of Campus Security Authorities for the purposes of the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act.
Comptroller Conners was kind enough to reply, whereas the others were not. He wrote in part,
"Thank you for the thought provoking email about SUNYA and the Clery Act. It is rather shocking." (September 27, 2012 5:36 AM).He's an early riser!
I'd followed up with another post regarding Clery Act violations, and noted with dismay something from a court decision concerning the University at Albany:
"the State is not an insurer or guarantor of the safety of SUNYA students"
McEnaney v. State of New York, 267 AD 2d 748 - NY: Appellate Div., 3rd Dept. 1999. http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14949034404515783354
I added that I "much prefer the opening text of the legislative intent of NYS Senator Klein's bill S610 (2011-2012 Regular Sessions):
"'The legislature hereby finds and declares that maintaining a safe environment for individuals studying on the campuses of the state university of New York is of critical importance, and that a well trained and well organized campus police force is vital to ensure that safety.'"
There's another quote worth adding:
“The health and safety of our students, faculty, staff and visitors is the State University of New York’s (SUNY) top priority,” said Roger Johnson, assistant vice chancellor for University Police and a 30-plus year veteran of law enforcement.
"Statement from SUNY Assistant Vice Chancellor for University Police Roger Johnson on OSC's Clery Audit of SUNY." SUNY.edu. October 22, 2008. http://www.suny.edu/sunynews/News.cfm?filname=2008-10-22 final Johnson statement on Clery.htm
I also raised concerns that were related to whether University at Albany Chief of Police James "Frank" Wiley met the legal and constitutional requirements of N.Y. CIV. SERV. LAW §§ 58 (1) and (1-b), N.Y. EXEC. LAW § 840 (2) and N.Y. CONST. Art. 5, § 6.
I hoped that perhaps Albany County could investigate those matters and some others as well. Albany County Comptroller Michael F. Conners, II had replied,
"Outside of my authority but might be a worthy blog post"
The questions I'd raised remain unanswered, the problems unaddressed.
So often the public complains the government doesn't listen to them. I suppose the government might sometimes complain that the public doesn't listen to them? So that it not be said, perhaps then I should blog about it, as Comptroller Conners had suggested to me that it might be worthwhile to do.
