Biography

Wayne S. Fisher is currently a Senior Policy Advisor with the Center on Policing where he is also a member of the faculty at the School of Criminal Justice. Through W.S. Fisher Associates Inc., he provides consulting and expert witness services involving a broad range of policing issues. Dr. Fisher has testified as an expert witness in criminal and civil litigation in both state and federal courts. He holds degrees from Upsala College, Montclair State University, and in 1979 received a Ph.D. in Sociology from the City University of New York.

Dr. Fisher spent ten years as a Newark police officer and detective before accepting a position with the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice in 1980. In 1988, he was appointed Deputy Director of the Division of Criminal Justice and remained in that position until his retirement in 2003. As Deputy Director, Dr. Fisher supervised all responsibilities of the Attorney General involving the operation of municipal and county police agencies and oversight of the state’s 23 police academies. He served as Chairman of the Police Training Commission and chaired committees responsible for establishing statewide law enforcement policy in the areas of vehicular pursuit, use of force, internal affairs and drug testing.

Dr. Fisher has published works in the areas of police authority in New Jersey, electronic surveillance, juvenile prosecutions, community policing, police use of force and internal affairs. He is also the author of Drug and Alcohol Use Among New Jersey High School Students, published every three years from 1980 to 2001.