Department Information
Organization
The Police Department is organized into the Office of the Chief
of Police, the Operations Division, and the Administration Division.
The Operations Division is commanded by a Deputy Chief of Police
and consists of the three Patrol Watches and the Detective Unit.
Each Patrol Watch has two supervisors and a number of patrol
officers assigned to it. These provide policing services to the
community: patrol, responding to calls for service, performing
initial investigations, traffic enforcement, and other public
safety and service activities. The Village is normally divided
into three beats for patrol purposes. In addition to the watch
commander, the three beat cars are often augmented by a fourth
(or "umbrella") car, a traffic car, and/or tactical
car.
The Detective Unit is supervised by the Deputy Chief of Police
of Operations and provides follow-up investigation of offenses
and incidents reported to the police. It also oversees the evidence/property
room.
The Administration Division is commanded by a Deputy Chief of
Police and is primarily responsible for staff functions. It consists
of the Records Unit, the DARE/School Resource Officer, the Community
and Business Resource Officer, the Ordinance Enforcement Officer,
and the School Crossing Guards. The Deputy Chief of Police of
Administration is also responsible for the planning and research
function, internal affairs, and public information functions.
The Police Department has one chief of police, two deputy chiefs
of police, one lieutenant, five sergeants, 22 patrol officers,
and three civilian members.
The communications function for the Police Department is provided
by the West Suburban Consolidated
Dispatch Center. The Center
was formed in May 2002 when the Oak Park and River Forest dispatch
centers were combined. The Village of Elmwood Park has since
joined. |
