Even at a young age, Deputy Probation Officer Willie Riley had aspirations of being a Chaplain. When the opportunity presented itself, DPO Riley volunteered to be assigned to the AB109 Mobile Resource Center, which was attached to the LAPD Central Station in Skid Row. He collaborated and worked with the LAPD Homeless Unit to identify AB109 probationers and connect them to necessary services.
He passionately took on the task of educating himself by taking the Billy Graham "Rapid Response Team Training Course for Churches." He received the Pastoral Crisis Counseling Certification from Homeland Crisis Training.
DPO Riley was also ordained as a Minister by The Universal Life Church, from which he received his Credentials of Ministry.
He has successfully completed The California Law Enforcement Chaplain Consortium-Law Enforcement Chaplaincy. This course includes instruction in the philosophy of chaplaincy, core values, roles and responsibilities, legal and ethical issues, law enforcement culture, crisis intervention, grief, bereavement counseling, death notification, and multi-cultural competency.
Now, DPO Riley applies all of this knowledge as he continues to visit Central Station on his days off. He recently took the LAPD "Peer Support Member" course, taught by a team of LAPD psychologists. He had almost completed his two-year probation period to become an LAPD Chaplain when the head Chaplain fast-tracked DPO Riley, explaining that he needed to "press him into service" now.
The LAPD holds their Employment Assistance Unit (EAU) in high regard. "Employee Assistance at LAPD has several programs under one umbrella, offering services such as Peer Support, Chaplain Services, Financial Counseling, and Return to Work. It is a large unit that also contains a division that coordinates with other police departments on funerals and other issues that some departments don't have as much knowledge about as the LAPD does," explains DPO Riley. DPO Riley goes on the proclaim: "The Chaplain motto is 'We serve those who protect'."