Community Services Unit
The Community Services Unit has the responsibility for filling requests from the public for police/community services. Requests for talks and presentations come from various groups, businesses, schools, churches, Neighborhood Watch Organizations, media representatives and citizens of the Town of Normal. Officers from all shifts and divisions fill these requests. The officers are selected for their expertise in the subject area requested.
Community safety is an important function of the Community Services Unit. Click here to go to the Safety Tips section.
Community
Policing Philosophy
You might have heard the phrase community policing, and wondered what that meant. Community policing is not a program or an activity that is undertaken by a specialized unit within the department. It is a philosophy that guides the approach to policing taken by every unit in the department. Chief Crutcher has committed himself and the department to providing the best community services possible. This means that sometimes non-traditional police methods need to be used. We rely on the officers own personal strengths to offer the citizens the help that they need. It is truly a partnership of shared responsibility in both policing and problem solving between the citizens and the police.
In
1829, Sir Robert Peel said it best. "The police are the public,
and the public are the police. The police are only members of the
public who are paid to give full time attention to the duties that
are incumbent upon every citizen in the interest of community welfare
and existence." Getting the community involved is the only way that
our community policing program can be successful. The Normal Police
Department will assist you in the implementation of Neighborhood
Watch groups. These groups are designed to enhance the cohesiveness
of the neighborhood residents and the police. We need the citizens
to be our eyes and ears when we are not present. The Normal Police
Department offers a Citizen Police Academy to provide the citizens
with a better understanding of what the police officers do, and
why we do it. We utilize citizen volunteers in many areas.
School Resource Officer
The School Resource Officer (SRO) Program is a school based, community policing concept designed to promote positive relationship with today’s youth. One officer is assigned to Chiddix Junior High School and Normal Community High School while another is assigned to Parkside Junior High School and Normal Community West High School. In addition to assisting the counselors with law-related issues, these officers conduct classroom presentations, assist Deans and School Administrators with the investigation of criminal incidents and are involved in community programs such as Operation Cool, the Youth Impact, Inc., the Powers Program, and Juvenile Court Services’ Early Intervention Program.