Overview
The Campus Citizen Review Board (CCRB) Binghamton University intends to develop and promote accountability, trust and communication among the Binghamton University campus community and the Binghamton University Police Department (BUPD). The CCRB will impartially review investigative reports related to allegations of police misconduct and make recommendations in a timely manner regarding complaints filed by members of the campus community against the BUPD. Binghamton University and the CCRB encourage the community and the public to bring forward such complaints. The CCRB will also make policy, procedures and training recommendations.
Letter to the Review board
To: President Harvey Stenger
From: CCRB Implementation Team
RE: Progress Report
Date: January 21, 2022
The Campus Citizen Review Board (CCRB) Implementation Team is pleased to present you with this update on the CCRB-related tasks you assigned in September. Our team has been meeting since early October. Though we had hoped to get an earlier start, a number of the team’s members were heavily involved in COVID-related activities throughout September and then again as we ended the semester and year. However, even within that short timeframe, we have made some significant progress.
Our assignment, as outlined in your letter dated Sept. 3, 2021, included the following:
- increase the visibility of the University Police Department's (UPD) Community Policing Program;
- increase the gender and racial diversity of our police officers;
- maintain compliance with the New York state standards on police use of force;
- ensure access to providing campus feedback on the performance of our police officers;
- enhance the capabilities of our police reporting software and equip officers with body cameras and develop appropriate policies for their use;
- assess our training, specifically around the topics of de-escalation and bias training, and educate our campus community on the extent of our training efforts;
- engage appropriate staff to discuss how to best collaborate on mental health response services during evening and weekend hours; and
- engage with communications and marketing staff to publicize the work of the CCRB, its first annual report and actions that will be taken in response to the report.
The team embraced this assignment with a clear understanding that this work is a priority for you, senior leadership and the CCRB, and is important to the entire campus community. Every student, faculty, staff member and visitor who steps foot on our campus must be afforded the right to feel valued and safe. One of the significant ways to accomplish this goal is to help strengthen the trust between our UPD and the campus community. In addition, our team wants to make sure that our students' mental health is supported. We believe the steps that have been taken to date and outlined below will go a long way in assuring this campus remains a secure space for all.
The Implementation Team appreciates the care in which these recommendations were made as part of the CCRB's report. We believe we have taken similar care to ensure we either completed the assignment or made significant progress in the past three months.
Most of our team’s action items involved the UPD and below are Chief John Pelletier's updates:
Recommendation — Increase visibility of UPD's community policing program
UPD returned to its community policing activities in fall 2021 after reducing community policing activities due to COVID restrictions in March 2020. Community policing remains a bedrock of its philosophy and how it operates. In order to build relationships with students and other campus populations, UPD has continued several past activities and added others. UPD has had a constant bike patrol presence as the weather allows during the semester and has also completed 376 community policing outreach events through mid-December, including educational programs, Resident Assistant (RA) checks and overall interactions with the community. These events are conducted by multiple officers and are held on a 365/24/7 basis as appropriate to reach all our constituents. The Office of Communications and Marketing (C&M) is also working with UPD to provide a better understanding of the department via updates on our website (including identifying UPD senior administration with photos and contact information) and published stories about operations and officers. For example, one recent story highlighted UPD Security Services Assistant Amir Aslamkhan, who took unpaid leave to act as an interpreter for Afghan refugees, mostly children. His volunteerism was reported on by multiple local news outlets and the University's communication channels. UPD anticipates working with C&M on more stories to help highlight UPD activities. UPD also held four coffee and cookies with UPD events this past semester, one each at the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences, University Downtown Center and on Veterans Day, in front of The Union on the main campus. UPD also tabled in The Union to promote its Breast Cancer Awareness Month fund drive/pin sale, which collected $875 in donations that were given to the American Cancer Society. These events were advertised and promoted on B-Line and Dateline. UPD also participated in two drug takeback events with students at the School of Pharmacy. Again, these are just some examples of how UPD continues to interact with the campus community, and we plan to continue and grow our community policing and outreach efforts.
Recommendation — Increase the gender and racial diversity in our department and maintain compliance with the NYS standards on use of force
UPD has always worked to maintain as much diversity as possible given the restrictions of our hiring opportunities. UPD is obligated to follow Civil Service Law and the exams are given only every four years. Civil Service is working to address the issue of diversity in police departments; however, to do this, the law needs to be changed. UPD and SUNY police departments statewide have voiced this need on every level. It will be a long process to re-vamp the Civil Service Law to make it more equitable and competitive with municipal police agencies as well as the NYS troopers who don't fall under the Civil Service umbrella; however, as a campus, we will continue to advocate for change and to recruit those who will add to the diversity in our department. We understand SUNY is also very interested in seeing these changes occur and we will continue to work with them on their advocacy efforts to see these changes implemented on a statewide level.
Recommendation — Maintain compliance with the NYS standards on use of force
Use of force is something UPD takes very seriously and trains vigorously to understand how it should be utilized as well as its limitations. It is also strictly governed by New York State Law. Because UPD is an accredited agency with the NYS Department of Criminal Justice, it is therefore bound to follow all use of force laws. UPD officers are properly trained and understand the use of force laws they must adhere to. Without exception, any use of force incident is reported to the Department of Criminal Justice for review.
Recommendation — Ensure access to providing campus feedback on the performance of our police officers
Most interactions between University Police officers and members of the campus community are amicable, and much of their work involves educational initiatives. Their commitment to law enforcement is based on respect for individual rights. However, at times the work of any police agency is inherently dangerous and sometimes contentious. An officer's work often involves extremely challenging circumstances where conflicts and miscommunication between the campus community and the police may arise.
UPD urges resolution of complaints through informal means whenever appropriate; however, if anyone feels they were treated unfairly or unprofessionally by any UPD personnel and wants to lodge a formal complaint, those complaints can be filed at this link (https://www.binghamton.edu/police/compliment.complaint.html). Additionally, individuals who have had a positive interaction with an officer or staff member are also encouraged to report that information at the same link (https://www.binghamton.edu/police/compliment.complaint.html). UPD will also continue to work with the CCRB on future surveys and other ways to improve the methods for providing feedback.
Recommendation — Enhance the capabilities of our police reporting software; equip officers with body cameras and develop appropriate policies for their use
For some time, UPD has wanted to move in the direction of adding body cameras to improve and provide additional transparency to our community policing and enforcement efforts. UPD is pleased to announce that it is moving forward with this initiative. UPD has recently ordered body cameras and expects to receive them near the end of January. The department will meet with the consultant team in February to set them up and then begin training officers on the proper use of the cameras. UPD expects to be fully operational before the start of the fall 2022 semester. In addition, UPD is currently tracking every arrest the department makes and sharing the information with the CCRB. That arrest information is also published on the UPD website for transparency purposes and to identify any concerning trends. Additionally, UPD is looking to upgrade its software system. Until that new system can be purchased, UPD will continue to provide monthly arrest records to the CCRB for its review.
Recommendation — Assess UPD training, specifically around the topics of de-escalation and bias training, and educate our campus community on the extent of the training efforts
UPD officers must complete mandatory training modules on Violence Prevention and Domestic Violence in the Workplace, Preventing Sexual Misconduct, Preventing Discrimination and Harassment, Internal Controls and HazCom/Right to Know. However, officers also complete annual and cyclical training in many areas that enable them to better serve and protect the campus. These trainings run the gamut from crime prevention to safety issues. The training programs have been placed on the UPD website and are updated annually, demonstrating the depth and time committed to training by the department.
UPD had another significant training opportunity when the department was provided access to a six-week course titled “Promoting and Protecting Civil and Human Rights” provided by the Auschwitz Institute for the prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities. The course is designed for law enforcement leadership; a two-week course for officers is also offered. Myra Sabir and Chief Pelletier took the course simultaneously and met once a week via Zoom to discuss different topics about the course. Except for Professor Sabir, who was allowed into the course based on her role with the CCRB, all others participating in the course were law enforcement personnel. The course presented a topic and then students were required to comment after each topic, normally three responses per week for discussion. The topics included Community Policing, Hate Crimes, Laws and Procedural Justice, Trauma (historical, community, police, experienced and observed), Racism and Bias (Jim Crow Laws, police used to catch runaway slaves, how policing is viewed and has been used, Nazi Germany policing). UPD lieutenants also enrolled in the course, allowing all officers to acquire views from law enforcement all over the country. Chief Pelletier was invited by the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) to discuss the training on a web presentation and we promoted it as a good learning experience for law enforcement leadership. Since then, UPD has incorporated parts of the training into our service training (procedural justice, bias training, history of policing).
One of the other CCRB recommendations involves improving the campus' response to the mental health needs of our students during off hours (nights and weekends). CCRB Implementation Team member Johann Fiore-Conte, associate vice president and chief health and wellness officer, provided the recommendation below.
Recommendation — Engage appropriate staff to discuss how to best collaborate on mental health response services during evening and weekend hours
First, to maintain a high quality of response, we believe consideration of periodic training for all first responders (all levels of Residential Life staff, professional staff serving in direct care roles, Students of Concern Committee, Threat Assessment Team, University Police, etc.) will be beneficial. Regular training opportunities do currently exist within some of these groups. We will review current training strategies, identify gaps and develop a formalized training schedule that will support a sustained approach to impactful response.
Secondly, while the response to on-campus residing students is strong, support for those students residing off campus, particularly during times of mental health crisis, is largely dependent on resources within local municipalities, and they vary from location to location. While the mobile crisis team, sponsored by the Mental Health Association of the Southern Tier (MHAST) does serve greater Binghamton, it is believed the demand can exceed the resource. The Division of Student Affairs will work with MHAST to determine whether there might be any partnering opportunities available to increase reach within our greater community and the areas within which our students reside off campus. As indicated in the draft proposal crafted by the CCRB, this could not only provide greater service, but also provide internship opportunities for health sciences and social work students.
Additionally, there is a handout attached to this report that summarizes the University's current response and related resources directed to support students experiencing mental health crisis.
Summary: The Implementation Team looks forward to strengthening its partnership with the CCRB. The team will continue to work with the CCRB and its liaison, Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Karen Jones. The team will also engage with Communications and Marketing to publicize the work of the CCRB, including its first annual report, and through additional actions to continue to improve our campus environment and culture. Together, we feel confident that we can make further progress and ensure that all of our students, staff, faculty and visitors feel valued, safe and heard. We believe our campus can become a place where everyone feels they belong and are treated equally and with respect.
Report of the Campus Citizen Review Board (CCRB) 2020-2021
The Campus Citizen Review Board, co-chaired by Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Karen Jones and Associate Professor of Human Development Myra Sabir, has released its first report, covering the 2020-2021 academic year. President Harvey Stenger has accepted the report and thanked the co-chairs and representatives who served.
Sept. 3, 2021
Dear Karen and Myra,
Thank you for your service this past year co-chairing the Campus Citizen Review Board. I applaud your first report as a successful start to helping the campus understand the committee’s views on how policing occurs on campus and how it is regarded.
My goal in establishing this board was to identify areas that we could develop further to ensure a campus where everyone feels valued and safe, while at the same time strengthening the trust between our University Police Department (UPD) and the campus community.
Your report was well organized into six sections, each with analysis and recommendations on the topics of Community Policing, Committee Engagement and Outreach, Mental Health, Selection and Training, Policies and Procedures, and Arrest Records. This organization allows me to target my responses to the most critical and urgent recommendations.
I have also convened an Implementation Group comprised of Darcy Fauci, chief of staff; JoAnn Navarro, vice president for operations; John Pelletier, chief of University Police; Brian Rose, vice president for student affairs; Johann Fiore-Conte, associate vice president for student affairs; and Greg Delviscio, vice president for communications and marketing. I have asked this group to provide me with a written review of your report, discuss your recommendations and determine how best to address them. I anticipate their review will be issued soon and they will then begin their implementation work after that report is received.
In regard to their implementation work, I have asked them to focus their efforts on how best to:
- increase the visibility of UPD’s Community Policing Program;
- increase the gender and racial diversity of our police officers; maintain compliance with the New York state standards on police use of force;
- ensure access to providing campus feedback on the performance of our police officers;
- enhance the capabilities of our police reporting software; equip officers with body cameras and develop appropriate policies for their use;
- assess our training, specifically around the topics of de-escalation and bias training, and educate our campus community on the extent of our training efforts;
- engage appropriate staff to discuss how to best collaborate on mental health response services during evening and weekend hours;
- and engage with communications and marketing staff to publicize the work of the CCRB, its first annual report and actions that will be taken in response to the report.
As the semester begins, I encourage you to continue holding open meetings and inviting speakers to campus on topics related to campus police policies and best practices.
Thank you for your service and leadership on this critical project.
Sincerely,
Harvey Stenger
President, Binghamton University
