Responsibilities and Services

• Conduct follow-up investigations on criminal and quasi-criminal activity
• Conduct liquor license and employment background investigations
• Provide drug interdiction, education, and enforcement activities / programs
• Provide crime prevention and community relations activities, programs, and training
• Coordinate efforts related to major case unit investigations
• Provide an enhanced problem-oriented policing response in addressing neighborhood conflicts and other unusual community / individual problems

Examples of offenses and investigations include, but are not limited to the following parameters:

• Death investigations
• Deviate sexual assaults and other sex-related offenses
• Bank robberies, home invasions, and armed robberies, which usually necessitate sustained investigative efforts
• Sophisticated burglaries
• Arson
• Financial-based crime (e.g., fraud, forgeries, public aid-related crimes)
• Covert investigations
• Organized criminal activities / offenses
• Kidnappings

The Orland Park Police Department is committed to responding to the needs of and establishing a close working relationship with the community as a department-wide philosophy, not just a specific problem. All employees share responsibility for achieving community relations objectives and play a vital role in the overall community relations effort of the Department. The success of community relations strategies and tactics depends on all police employees working together in partnership with the community.

Community Policing

Community policing is a state of mind that occurs when the officer realizes they have the power to change a situation or correct a problem by means other than arrest and goes about developing a plan to solve the problem - a plan that involves not only the officer but action on the part of those most affected by the problem, the citizens.

The Community Policing Program is demonstrated through the use of the Bike Patrol Unit, Cookout with Cops, Coffee with a Cop, Citizens' Police Academy, Teen Citizens' Police Academy, the D.A.R.E. Program, the Problem-Oriented Policing concept and the Walk and Talk Program.

D.A.R.E. Program

Realizing that young people are an intricate portion of our society, the Orland Park Police Department implemented the D.A.R.E. program in six local schools. D.A.R.E. primarily focuses its 10-week curriculum on fifth and sixth grade. The curriculum covers everything from "Eight Ways to Say No to Drugs" to techniques for improving self-esteem.

The goal of the Orland Park Police Department Internet Unit is to provide village residents with police protection in regards to all Internet-related crimes. This unit is also involved in conducting open forums. These open forums are targeted toward parents who want to address the issue of keeping children safe while on the Internet.

The South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force includes the collaboration of investigators who arrive on the scene of major cases within the first few hours after the commission of a crime. The use of the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force is related to the seriousness of the crime, the number of suspects or witnesses to be interviewed, and the area to be canvassed.

The problem-oriented policing (POP) officer is a position appointed by the Chief of Police under the command of the Commander of Investigations. The POP officer reviews incidents via the POP Referral Program in regard to problems that have been addressed by the Patrol Division at the same location on at least three occasions in which no resolution has been reached.

The POP officer then reviews the referrals and directs and coordinates problem-solving efforts to eliminate or better manage the problems while working with the beat officers, neighbors, village resources, and others who may be of assistance. POP is developed to look into the root of problems that generate high numbers of calls for service. Usually, the problems deal with residences, apartments, businesses, schools, etc. that are generating a high number of calls for service.

Analyzing Problems

The job of the POP officer is to analyze these problems using the following methods:

Scanning
Look at the area and the type of calls for service which are being generated. This includes identifying the parties and crime involved if any.

Analysis
Start gathering detailed information to understand the scope, nature, and causes of the problem.

Response
Put into action the means which have been developed to rectify the problem. This could mean breaking the big problem down into some smaller problems.

Assessment
Put the strategy into action and when the problem has been resolved or corrective action has been taken, the solution is evaluated by its success. This also gives officers an opportunity to assess what can be done differently in the future.