Biography

Name:              Richard D. Wiles        

Age:                46

Occupation:     Former Chief of Police -- El Paso Police Department

Instructor -- UTEP and Park University

Website:          WilesForEPCounty.com

Residence :      Northeast El Paso

Relevant Experience:

 

El Paso resident for more than 40 years. Worked for more than 27 years in local public service, 26 with the El Paso Police Department, the last four as Chief of Police. Oversaw more than 1,450 employees and $100 million budget. Managed internal operations of the Police Department while reaching out to citizenry.

 

Issues

 

1. What role would you direct the Sheriff's Department to take with immigration enforcement?

 

As a Law Enforcement Professional, I believe that individuals who want to migrate to the United States need to follow the law as laid out by our government. My stance on the role of the Sheriff’s Department with immigration enforcement can be broken down into two areas:

 

1) Local and County Law Enforcement Agencies do not have the resources, training or experience to enforce immigration laws. There is a great potential for increased liability, racial profiling and alienating members of the community when local authorities engage in enforcing laws that are the responsibility of the Federal government.

 

2) We are aware that a small minority of illegal immigrants are engaged in drug smuggling, human trafficking as well as other crimes. Unquestionably these are law enforcement issues that need to be addressed by local and county law enforcement. However, because we experience many of these crimes due to our location on the border, the federal and state governments should assist us with funding to take that burden off of local taxpayers.

2. What is your position on consolidation of police and sheriff? If you support it, what specific steps will you commit to?

 

Because the property tax burden is weighing more heavily than ever on the taxpayer, consolidation is a major part of my platform and vision for the Sheriff's Department. During my term as Chief with the Police Department, I approached the Sheriff's Department to work on a proposal to have joint training at the Sheriff's Academy. This worked exceptionally well for some time and we graduated two joint academy classes. Unfortunately, the space at the Sheriff's academy is limited and the Sheriff's Department requested $500,000 from the City in order to add additional classroom space. Since the City was unable to commit that type of funding, we had to move back to the Police Academy.

 

In my discussions with City and County leaders, I believe the support is in place for consolidation. There are some units that could be consolidated rather quickly, i.e., training, SWAT, communications, crime scene unit, etc. Consolidation has been effective in other communities including Las Vegas, Miami-Dade, and most recently, Indianapolis.

 

3. What is your position on privatizing prisons in general, and El Paso's in specific?

 

My research on privatizing prisons or jails has found that overall, privatizing is not in the best interest of the taxpayers. Private companies can serve certain functions more effectively and for less cost than public agencies because of the government bidding process and cost-cutting in a business sense. However, cutting corners cannot fulfill the numerous requirements of operating a jail which require highly trained personnel, strong policies, high standards and the ability to meet state standards and ensure criminals are kept safely away from the community.

 

I am not in support of privatizing the El Paso County jails.

 

4. What is your position on the new state law that allows officers the discretion to write a ticket for possession of marijuana under 4 ounces? Should such discretion be exercised in El Paso?

 

This is a complicated issue because it affects not only the issue of the cost of criminal justice in our community, but also the standards the community holds and the message law enforcement sends in dealing with drug offenses.

 

Law Enforcement agencies have always had the ability to take an individual in possession of under 4 ozs of marijuana into custody, process him, release him, turn the contraband in as evidence, and submit the case to the District Attorney’s Office for prosecution. In this case, I agree with the new state law and opt for the more efficient option of writing a ticket for a lesser crime. In an environment where staffing is reaching a critical point, this would release the officer back into the field quicker to handle more serious public safety issues and still ensure the offender is being held accountable for violating the law.

 

5. Do you support citizen review committees? If so, what powers or authority do you support?

 

In the case of the Sheriff’s Department, the Sheriff, as an elected official, answers directly to the citizens. If the Sheriff is not handling the affairs of the agency appropriately, the citizens can hold the Sheriff accountable at the ballot box.

Typically citizen review committees are not found in communities that have a strong bond of trust and respect between citizens and law enforcement. We are blessed to enjoy that strong bond here in El Paso and I do not feel that citizen review, other than the ones currently in place, are necessary at this time.

 However, if the issue was raised, as an elected official I would be ready and willing to address the concerns of my constituents.

 

6. How would you balance using confiscated funds to bolster the budget and the potential to abuse confiscation to bolster the budget? What controls are or should be in place?              

 

The controls have already been put in place by federal and state government. When an individual’s assets are seized, they have all the due process rights afforded under the US and State Constitution to ensure that the seizure is appropriate and legal. Additionally, City Council and County Commissioners are prohibited from using seized assets to supplant budgets. That means that confiscated funds cannot be used to purchase those items that are the responsibility of the governmental body. I have extensive experience in managing confiscated funds and each and every audit showed that all federal and state rules were followed.

 

7. What is the current relationship between the union and the command? What should the relationship be?

 

Based on my 14 years of experience at all levels of management, I can say that every organization experiences periodic disagreements between management and labor. But, the overall relationship between the sheriff’s association and management is healthy.

 

The Sheriff must maintain this healthy relationship with the union to address concerns important to the membership that could affect the day-to-day operations of the Sheriff’s Department.

 

8. What do you believe is the biggest issue facing the department?

 

While it is clear that the El Paso County Sheriff’s Department is a professional organization with hard-working men and women, I, along with off-duty sheriff deputies, have witnessed first-hand the weaknesses in technology and equipment.

I believe that the most important issue facing the Department, both the law enforcement function and the jail, is ensuring that it continues to grow to meet the demands placed upon it by an ever-increasing population, especially considering the expansion of Fort Bliss while ensuring that the employees have the most up-to-date equipment, technology, training and policies to meet those demands.