11/27/24
Today, our guest speaker was P.J. Youker, Chief of Police.
This was an informal presentation on some of the developments and programs of the Police Department. For a full overview, visit the website: https://www.wheaton.il.us/321/Police-Department
- Staffing: seeking to add a new patrol officer
- Automated license plate readers (ALPR): Readers (ALPR) are a high-resolution digital camera to capture images of vehicle registrations, make and color, and time the vehicle was at the location of the fixed camera. Some 20 Readers have been installed throughout the City to assist the Wheaton Police Department in quickly identifying license plates associated with missing persons, amber alerts, people in crisis, and felonious vehicles involved in criminal activity.
- SAFE-T Act: Commonly known for the elimination of cash bail, operational changes include:
- Police officers can no longer place a suspect under arrest for ordinance violations, petty offenses, and Class C or B misdemeanors unless certain additional criteria are met. Examples of class C and B misdemeanors include Disorderly Conduct, Assault, and Criminal Trespass.
- Suspects charged with any misdemeanor offense (with the exclusion of domestic violence offenses, Order of Protection violations, sex offenses, and abuse crimes) will generally be released on their own recognizance and without cash bail.
- On many felony offenses, detention can only be imposed if the defendant poses a specific, real, and present threat to a person or has a high likelihood of willful flight. This translates to many felony offenders being released on their own recognizance.
- Neighborhood Roll Calls: These summertime neighborhood meetings serve to Increase citizen engagement in community safety efforts
- D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) Program: This long time program has moved beyond the simplistic (and ineffective) "Just Say No." approach. The D.A.R.E. program is a 10-week program focused on reaching out to the elementary and middle schools in the Wheaton area. The program is geared toward 5th grade students and includes topics on: responsibility in daily lives, drug information for responsible decision making, risk and consequences, peer pressure, dealing with stressful situations, basics of communication, nonverbal communication and listening, bullying, helping others, and getting help from others. Additionally, the D.A.R.E. officer teaches online safety for middle schoolers and their parent
- Social Services: The department employs two full time social workers dealing with numerous situations the Department is involved with. See: https://www.wheaton.il.us/1079/Social-Services-Resources