Police Department

Mission Statement
The Arlington Heights Police Department will    achieve excellence in policing by protecting, serving, and partnering with our community.

Value Statements
We place our highest value on the preservation of human life and the prevention of crime.

We will maintain ongoing collaborative relationships with community partners to identify and address shared concerns.

We will protect the rights of the individual by upholding the laws and the constitution in an impartial unbiased manner.

We strive for excellence in the quality of our work. We recognize the need to be dynamic in meeting the community's changing needs.

We hold ourselves to the highest standards and are accountable for actions both personally and as an organization.

We will set measurable performance goals, which support the priorities of the Village.

Every member of the department will be given the opportunity to develop and grow. They will be provided with the necessary authority, training and resources to achieve professional and organizational goals.

The Arlington Heights Police Department values impartial and unbiased policing and view it as a critical cornerstone for upholding professional ethics in law enforcement. All persons having contact with any member of the Department shall be treated in a fair, equitable, and objective manner, in accordance with the law, and without consideration of their race, ethnic background, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, economic status, or any other identifiable group as defined by Department policy.

The preservation of human life is the highest value the Arlington Heights Police Department has. Our officers are trained on an annual basis to use de-escalation techniques whenever possible to reach an outcome that does not involve the use of force. As a nationally accredited agency through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), our policies are reviewed on an annual basis and held to a high standard. The Department's response to resistance policy requires a supervisory investigation into each incident that involves a use of force to ensure officers acted in accordance with the associated procedures. 

In a situation where there is a high-level response to resistance, in which a death or serious physical injury has occurred as the result of officer involvement, the Department's High-Level Response to Resistance Investigations policy outlines the appropriate response. An independent authority will investigate whether the officer involved was justified or unjustified in their high-level response.

Administrative Services Division

Records Bureau
The Records Bureau is comprised of civilian personnel that are tasked to provide support service to the Department, the community and other agencies. Typically, most non-emergency related calls for serviceare responded to by records personnel. In addition to handling public inquiries, records staff complete the processing for nearly all Department paperwork which includes, but is not limited to: administration of the processing and collections function for all parking enforcement systems; processing expungements and
abandoned autos; reviewing records management system (RMS) reports; data entry of accidents, citations
and arrests.

Support Bureau
The Support Bureau is comprised of both sworn and civilian personnel. Projects that affect multiple areas of the Department or the Department as a whole are typically led by Support Bureau personnel. In addition to project-based assignments, the Bureau is responsible for the following on a continual basis:
accreditation; budget preparation; evidence processing; grants management; policy revision; and training coordination. 

Criminal Investigations/Community Services Division

Criminal Investigations Bureau
In addition to investigating all types of criminal activity, CIB personnel oversee all matters relating to registered sex offenders, the Department’s Peer Jury program, and conduct background investigations on liquor license applicants, business license applicants, and police officer candidate applicants. The three School
Resource Officers (SRO) are tasked with building and maintaining positive relationships with the students and staff at John Hersey High School, The Academy at Forest View, Vanguard High School and the Timber Ridge School. The Bureau is also responsible for maintaining investigations that have been designated
as “Cold Cases” and revisiting them on a regular basis in the hope of solving them through investigative and technological advancements. 

Community Services Bureau
The sworn personnel designated to the Community Service Bureau are responsible for several public facing activities of the Department and for proactive policing initiatives. CSB specifically works on: crime prevention, problem oriented
policing,school safety planning, special event planning, and victim services.

Patrol Division

Patrol Bureau
The Patrol Bureau's primary responsibility is to respond to both emergency and non-emergency calls for service, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Sworn and non-sworn positions comprise the Bureau, with non-sworn positions being
responsible for staffing the front desk, responding to animal related incidents, and assisting with various administrative duties. Sworn officers in the patrol bureau are assigned to a specific beat for the duration of their shift. Each officer is tasked as the primary responder for all calls for service within their beat. The village is divided into eight primary beats that are determined based on several factors, including historical call for service volume, geographic size and natural boundaries.

Traffic Bureau
The Traffic Bureau was organizationally created within the Patrol Division in March 2006 and consists of two operational components: traffic enforcement and parking enforcement in the Downtown Business District. Their primary focus is to develop working relationships within the community to specifically address citizen complaints involving traffic-related problems.

SEEKING RESIDENT FEEDBACK FOR CALEA ACCREDITATION

About CALEA Accreditation 
The Arlington Heights Police Department has been an accredited agency through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) since 2008. CALEA was created in 1979 by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA), and the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). The Purpose of CALEA is to provide law enforcement agencies with a body of nationally recognized standards created by law enforcement professionals, thereby improving the quality of law enforcement services. Compliance with the standards allows a law enforcement agency to deliver a high quality of service, increase citizen confidence in the agency, decrease liability issues, and raise the agency to an international level of professionalism.

The CALEA accreditation program embodies the precepts of community-oriented policing. As a community-focused law enforcement agency, the Arlington Heights Police Department strictly adheres to these established standards as a means to validate the department’s commitment to excellence and the community it serves. The accreditation program provides numerous benefits, including:

Greater Accountability within the Agency
CALEA Standards give the Chief of Police a proven management system of written directives, sound training, clearly defined lines of authority and routine reports that support decision-making and resource allocation. A strong dedication to agency accountability increases citizen confidence as established policies and practices are continuously validated by independent reviews conducted by subject matter experts.

Reduced Risk and Liability Exposure 
Accredited agencies are better able to defend themselves against unfounded citizen complaints and potential civil lawsuits. Many agencies report a decline in legal actions against them, once they become accredited. Strict adherence to a proven set of established standards, rooted in current law enforcement best practices, solidifies an agency’s preparedness and response to incidents within the community. Many agencies report a reduction in the liability insurance costs and/or reimbursement of accreditation fees.  

Staunch Support from Government Officials
Accreditation provides objective evidence of an agency’s commitment to excellence in leadership, resource management and service delivery. Thus, government officials are more confident in the agency’s ability to operate efficiently and meet community needs. Accreditation seeks to strengthen crime prevention and control capabilities, formalize essential management procedures, establish fair and non-discriminatory personnel practices, improve service delivery, solidify interagency cooperation and coordination thereby increasing community and staff confidence in the agency.  

Improved Employee Confidence and Morale
Accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) is a prestigious and respected designation symbolizing the dedication of the agency towards law enforcement professionalism. Only 3% of law enforcement agencies nationwide choose to become, or are ultimately awarded, accreditation. Policies and procedures related to training, facilities, equipment, employee rights, and officer mental/physical health acknowledge the Police Department and Village’s continued commitment to the staff who selflessly serve and protect the community.  

Accreditation is an on-going process. CALEA maintains an access portal that allows for comment and feedback regarding an agency compliance with CALEA standards, engagement in the service community, and delivery of public safety services. These comments can be in the form of commendations or concerns. The overall intent of the accreditation process is to provide the participating agency with information to support continuous improvement, as well as foster the pursuit of professional excellence.

IMPORTANT: CALEA is not an investigatory body and subsequently the public portal should not be used to submit information for such purposes.  Additionally, there will be no response other than acknowledgement to submissions; however, the information will be considered in context to its relevancy to compliance with standards and the tenets of CALEA Accreditation. 

Accreditation Public Comment Portal