BIO SKETCH OF MR. WILLIAM K. FINLEY
Guest Speaker at the
18th National Convention - 2008
Mr. William K. Finley
Saint Paul, Minnesota
William K. Finney was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1948. A life-long resident of the city, he was named Chief of Saint Paul’s Police Department on July 15, 1992, following 21 years of experience on the force.
Mr. Finney’s law enforcement career began with a position as a Reserve Police Officer in Mankato in 1969. On January 23, 1971 he was sworn in as a Saint Paul police officer. During his tenure, he was promoted to Sergeant, Lieutenant and Captain. Prior to being named Chief of Police, he fulfilled assignments as patrol officer, investigator, community projects leader, patrol supervisor, director of training and executive officer, in addition to functioning as the team commander for the Central District of the city.
Mr. Finney has strong links to the community going back to his birth. He was raised in Saint Paul’s Rondo/Summit-University neighborhood and is a product of the city’s public school system. He graduated from Central High School in 1966. Four years later, he graduated from Mankato State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology and Psychology. Concordia University, St. Paul, awarded Mr. Finney a Doctorate in Humane Letters for a lifetime dedicated to public service to the community in 2005. Because of his interest in quality public education, he was elected to the Saint Paul School Board in 1989 and served three years – two years as Board Clerk and one year as Treasurer. In 2005, he returned to the school board to fill a vacated Board position. Mr. Finney has also served as a board member of Citizens for a Safety Minnesota, has been active in the YMCA Black Achievers Association as well as the Indianhead Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He served a term as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the United Way of the Saint Paul Area.
In 1980, Mr. Finney graduated from the 123rd session of the FBI National Academy, and in 1994 he graduated from the 17th session of the FBI’s National Executive Institute in Quantico, Virginia. He is also a graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Police, sponsored by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). He has served on the Governor’s Commission on Violence and the Minnesota Supreme Court Task Force on Racial Bias. Mr. Finney has served as an executive board member of the Police Executive Research Forum, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association (MCPA).
As Chief of Police for the City of Saint Paul, Mr. Finney led the department in its strong community-based policing concept. This effort has resulted in citizens sharing a partnership with law enforcement officials to ensure the safety of those working and residing in the city. Examples of successful community policing are the Weed and Seed program and the Heavy Enforcement Activities for Thirty Days (HEAT) program. These proactive policing strategies effectively identify and incarcerate individuals who are engaging in unlawful and nuisance activity, while introducing positive community building and crime prevention activities to make these neighborhoods more livable. Under Mr. Finney’s direction, “community policing offices” were opened in several areas of the city that are staffed by both police officers and community volunteers. He also reorganized the department with a series of operational and structural changes that complement the community policing philosophy.
As Chief of Police, Mr. Finney increased department efficiencies through the reduction of supervisory and management positions, by consolidating units within the department, and by decentralizing resources from headquarters to district officers located in the neighborhoods. He worked with other units of government in a consolidated effort to reduce service duplication and create greater opportunities for cooperation between various levels of government. Mr. Finney initiated the establishment of a civilian review commission to oversee complaints involving the conduct of Saint Paul police officers. Under his leadership, the department implemented a ground-breaking agreement with the local chapter of the NAACP to address issues of racial profiling and race relations in Saint Paul.
Since his retirement from the Saint Paul Police Department, June 30, 2004, Mr. Finney has consulted with the Police Assessment Research Forum (PARC) in California on a variety of contemporary law enforcement issues. He enjoys working on his vintage motor vehicles, volunteering as a Reading Aide to the students at Maxfield Elementary School in Saint Paul and spending time with his grandchildren.
Mr. Finney lives in Saint Paul with his wife Linda, nephew Kelley and has three adult sons.
