Command Staff

Chief

Patrol Operations Lieutenant

               Patrol Division
               Investigations

               Evidence Unit

Administrative Lieutenant

               Personnel
               Training
               Range Officers

               Internships

Patrol

Under the command of the Patrol Operations Lieutenant, the Patrol Division is the most critical aspect of the Northeastern Illinois University Police Department. A Patrol Sergeant supervises each shift. Employing the use of vehicular, foot and bike patrol, the Patrol Division provides protection to the University community around the clock and ensures that students, faculty, staff, and visitors to the campus are safe.

Firearms Instruction Program and Police Training

Under the command of the Administrative Lieutenant, five specially trained and certified range officers facilitate the Firearms Instruction Program. Range officers employ various strategies and tactics officers need to maintain the knowledge and skills required for certification. In addition to Firearms Instruction, the Administrative Lieutenant ensures that all officers receive training and continuing education in other areas of Police operations.

Investigations/Evidence

Providing supplement to the Patrol Division, the Investigations Unit is responsible for investigating a majority of the criminal incidents within the jurisdiction of the University Police Department as well as University policy violations on campus. The Investigations Unit does the follow up on crime reports and participates in various forms of investigative activities such as surveillance and arrest warrants. The Investigations Unit also establishes and maintains relationships with other law enforcement agencies and local courts.

Working hand-in-hand with Patrol and Investigations, the Evidence Unit handles all incoming property (recovered stolen property, and found property) and serve as crime scene technicians who identify, collect, preserve, and document evidence at a crime scene.

Members of both units receive advanced training in computer crime, burglary and theft, evidence collection, interview and interrogation, and background investigation and photography.

Community Policing

Community policing is a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies that support the use of partnerships and problem solving techniques to address the conditions that give rise to public safety issues.

Community policing is comprised of three key components:

Community Partnerships

Collaborative partnerships between the law enforcement agency, and the individuals and organizations they serve, to develop solutions to problems and increase trust in police.

Organizational Transformation

Collaboration between management, personnel and information systems to support community partnerships and proactive problem solving.

Problem Solving

The process of engaging in the examination of identified problems in order to develop and evaluate effective responses.

Officer Field Training Program

Under the command of the Administrative Lieutenant, six specially trained and certified officers facilitate the Field Training Program. The mandatory program consists of 12 weeks of intensive training for all newly hired officers to complete successfully prior to working independently in the field.

Communications

The Communications division is a full-service emergency communications center operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As a point of first contact with the officers in the field and the community, police telecommunicators receive reports of crime, emergencies and requests for information from the community. Police, fire, ambulance and other emergency services are dispatched, as appropriate.