Organization

OPERATIONS DIVISION

The Deputy Chief of Operations is responsible for the day-to-day functions of the Division. Reporting to the Deputy Chief of Operations are the Zone Commanders, District Commanders, Traffic Unit, Special Operations Officers, Community Service Officer, Code Enforcement Officer, Liaison Officer, Repeat Offender Strike Force Officers, and Lake County Gang Task Force.

The Operations Division of the Mundelein Police Department is comprised of uniformed personnel. Uniformed personnel are the "first responders" to calls for service and conduct all preliminary investigations, render immediate aid/provide solutions to situations for which they are assigned or confronted with.

The Mundelein Police Department provides service twenty-four hour per day, seven days per week, to the community. Shifts are structured 8 hours in length (80 hours every two weeks). Staff is divided into four teams that are responsible for four separate geographical areas of the Village. 

The Patrol Shift’s primary responsibilities include preventive patrol in the community and responding to calls for police assistance. Other important functions provided by the patrol shift are traffic enforcement, business checks, public relations, assisting other village departments, and accident investigation.

Each shift has assigned, trained special operations officers, juvenile officers, evidence technicians, traffic accident investigators and field training officers. This enables a specialized response to any call for service anytime of the day that comes into the Police Department.

• Bicycle Unit     Mundelein utilizes 6 part-time bike patrol officers who have attended an intense 80-hour bike patrol course, which not only teaches bike safety, but also teaches officers how to properly maneuver their bikes in a variety of situations.  The bike officers are a great community relations tool. 

   

  With the barrier of the squad car removed, the public finds the bike officers more approachable.  Officers participate in parades, bike rallies and bike safety classes. 

   

  Their patrol duties include patrolling all of our apartment complexes, village parks and bike paths, as well as areas where vehicular traffic is restricted.  The officer’s covert ability enables them to ride-up and approach criminal activity without virtually making a sound.   

• Special Operations Unit       The Special Operations Unit was created to provide a central repository for the collection, evaluation, analysis and dissemination of information pertaining to individuals, groups, organizations, and/or business suspected of being involved in gang activity; and to provide methods of proactive enforcement strategies to prevent and/or curtail the presence of gangs within the Village of Mundelein. 

   

  The unit utilizes a  “ZERO TOLERENCE” philosophy as it operates their plan of attack through community education, computerization and community relations.  Officers are selected on merit by the authority of the Chief of Police and are trained academically by attending one or more recognized academic institutions including certification as a gang specialist.  In addition to addressing interdiction and suppression, officers can be further trained to participate in the public speakers bureau and the gang intelligence unit.

    

• Traffic Unit    This has been and will continue to be responsible for addressing traffic and parking-related problems, complaints, investigation of hit-and-run crashes, investigation of serious injuries, fatalities, complex traffic accidents and equipment related research. The Traffic Unit also conducted traffic surveys and studies to provide the basis for recommended improvements in regulatory signs. These recommendations were made in an effort to improve both motor vehicle and pedestrian safety. We have seven officers who are trained as Traffic Crash Investigators. These teams handle all crashes with major injuries or damage to property/vehicles.  This unit also incorporates the Motorcycle Patrol Unit.  

The Mundelein Police Department, through cooperation with Harley Davidson, has procured two Harley Davidson Road King Police Motorcycles.  These motorcycles have been specially equipped with a compliment of emergency lights, sirens, as well as radar units.  The motorcycles have many uses such as, traffic enforcement, parades, and other community related events.  The officers are specially trained and must complete a minimum of 80 hours of instruction through Northwestern Traffic Institute/Harley Davidson. 

 

The motorcycle unit allows the police department to further break down the barriers between the police and the community, by making the officers more approachable to the public.  Children and adults alike cannot resist approaching the officers as well as the motorcycles, thus making the unit a great community-relations tool.    

SUPPORT SERVICES DIVISION

The Deputy Chief of Support Services is responsible for a variety of functions. This position's responsibilities include but are not limited to the physical maintenance of the building, ordering of supplies, budgeting, record keeping, training and supervision of Communications, Records, and Investigations. Additionally, the position is responsible for preparation of rules, regulations and policies as the department is working toward becoming an accredited agency. Finally, in addition to these functions, the Support Services Division is the research arm of the Department.

The Support Services Division of the Police Department consists of personnel assigned to several units and sections, Criminal Investigations, Youth Investigations, Communications, Records Management, Research and Development, Identification, Crime Prevention, D.A.R.E., G.R.E.A.T., and Carl Sandburg and Mundelein High School Liaison Officers. All sections provide "support" for the uniformed Operations Division through various law enforcement functions, such as: follow-up investigations, investigating youth related incidents, crisis interventions, evidence gathering and evaluation, security surveys, community crime prevention programs and drug and gang education in schools, telecommunications, record maintenance, data entry, statistical reporting to the state and federal governments.

• Records Management     This unit is charged with maintaining the department computer records system (CRIMES) and is the repository for all hard copy documents of reported incidents, crimes, traffic crashes, and juvenile records. The unit also transmits all the appropriate criminal information to the State of Illinois under the Uniform Crime Reporting System (UCR), and all traffic crash report data to the Illinois Department of Transportation.  The records function is critical in supporting the department’s mission of community orientated policing by ensuring proper data and information entry and retrieval for dissemination to department personnel for CRIMESTAT reporting and crime prevention/community relations programs. The unit provides 24 hour, on call access to records in support of the patrol and investigative functions.

Page last updated on Tuesday, July 07, 2009 at 09:00 AM -0600