[Amended 12-16-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-22]
A. There is created a Police Department, an executive department of
the City. The Police Department consists of the Chief of Police and
of such number of other police officers as may be provided from time
to time by the City Council. The City may appoint, discipline and
discharge both full-time and part-time police officers. All police
officers employed by the City shall be 21 years of age or older, shall
be physically and mentally capable of performing the duties of a police
officer with or without reasonable accommodations, shall have a valid
Illinois drivers license, shall have no felony convictions and shall
be of good moral character as determined by the City Council. Both
full-time and part-time police officers shall be trained in accordance
with applicable procedures for such officers established from time
to time by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board.
B. Part-time police officers shall have all of the responsibilities
of full-time police officers. Part-time police officers employed by
the City shall not work more than 1,560 hours per twelve-month period
beginning on the first of January of any calendar year. Part-time
police officers shall be under the supervision of the Chief of Police.
Part-time police officers shall not be assigned to supervise or direct
full-time police officers.
There is created the officer of Chief of Police.
He/She shall be appointed by the Mayor with the consent of the City
Council; and he/she shall be ex officio City Marshal and Superintendent
of Police.
Before entering upon his/her duties, the Chief
of Police shall file with the City Clerk a bond in the sum of $1,000
with sureties to be approved by the Council, conditioned to indemnify
the Council for any loss or liability due to or occasioned by any
act or failure to act on the part of the Chief.
The Chief of police, in addition to his/her regular responsibility
of being a patrol officer, shall have the following responsibilities;
A. The Chief of Police is the chief administrative officer
of the Department and, operating in conjunction with the Police Committee,
shall have authority in all matters of policy and operations. He/She
exercises all lawful powers of his/her office and issues such lawful
orders as are necessary to assure the effective performance of the
Department.
B. Through the Chief of Police, the Department is responsible
for the enforcement of all laws and ordinances coming within its legal
jurisdiction. The Chief of Police shall be responsible for the enforcement
of rules and regulations regulating the Department and for the completion
and forwarding of such reports as may be required.
C. The Chief of Police is responsible to the Mayor and
will administer the Department under the direction and control of
the Mayor. He/She shall keep the Mayor informed of incidents or developments
that may unusually affect the public or official relations.
D. The Chief of Police is responsible for the training
of all members of the Department. This includes the preliminary training
of members upon their appointment to the Department and the continued
training of all members.
E. The Chief of Police shall be required to certify to
the correctness of all bills incurred by the Department. The Chief
of Police may without prior authorization make expenditures from time
to time on behalf of the Department for one or more items provided
that the aggregate amount of any such expenditure shall not at any
one time exceed $500. The Chief of Police shall promptly report all
such expenditures to the Police Committee. Purchases which at any
one time individually or in the aggregate exceed $500 but do not exceed
$1,000 must receive prior written authorization from the Chairman
of the Police Committee or the Mayor. Purchases which at any one time
individually or in the aggregate exceed $1,000 must receive prior
authorization by the City Council during a duly convened meeting of
the City Council. Purchases made without authorization or a purchase
order will be refused payment.
[Amended 12-8-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-12]
F. The Chief of Police shall be the custodian of all
property coming into the possession of the Police Department, and
shall be accountable for all such property delivered into his/her
custody, and be responsible for the safekeeping, proper disposition
and accurate record of same. This record shall be by Inventory List.
This Inventory List is to be updated with every new purchase. A final
physical inventory is to be turned into the Police Committee by December
31 of every year and reviewed within 30 days. The Chief of Police
shall see that all property is returned to its lawful owner when no
longer needed by the Department.
G. The Chief of Police will be responsible for the scheduling
of work hours, for each officer and each shift. He/She shall make
the monthly activity report available to the Mayor or the Police Committee
members at the first regular meeting of the City Council each month.
H. The Chief of Police will be responsible for the maintenance
of all police vehicles and he/she will see that they are kept clean.
This is not to mean that the Chief must do this himself/herself. He/She
may delegate this to a patrol officer.
I. The Chief of Police will be responsible to see that
each officer works his/her regular shift. Any shifts not worked requiring
the extra officer to be called in must be authorized by the Mayor
or the Police Committee only.
J. The Chief of Police will be responsible for the care
of and filing of all records kept in the Police Headquarters.
It shall be the duty of the members of the Police
Department to see to the enforcement of all the ordinances of the
City and all statutes applicable thereto; and to preserve order and
prevent infractions of the law; and to arrest violators thereof.
A. Mission on post. A patrol officer is responsible for
the accomplishment of the police mission on his/her post. He/She shall
constantly be vigilant and on the alert for violations of the laws
and ordinances, and shall make every effort to prevent breaches of
peace and offenses against persons and property. He/She shall be held
accountable for the reporting of crime, accidents, disorders, and
other criminal offenses and, when neglectful of his/her duties, shall
be held accountable.
B. Report for duty. He/She shall report promptly at the
designated hour and place, in proper uniform, for the assignment of
duties. He/She shall carry out orders and instructions of his/her
superior officer and shall read such materials as are made available
to him/her. He/She shall make written memorandums of such information
as necessary.
C. Geographical directions. Patrol officers are charged
with learning the geographical character of the City well enough to
enable them to give adequate directions to streets, public buildings,
etc. when requested. He/She shall never intentionally give wrong or
misleading directions.
D. Familiarization with City. A patrol officer shall
thoroughly familiarize himself with the City, learning the streets
and alleys. He/She shall be familiar with all public businesses, offices,
and their entrances, exits, fire escapes and all other possible means
of escape, while making himself/herself familiar with the locations
of the safes, night lights and other places of storage of valuables.
E. Businesslike manner. A patrol officer shall, at all
times, maintain an alert and businesslike manner, avoiding loitering
or lounging about places of business or on the street. This in no
way is to be construed that a patrol officer may not enter a place
of business to familiarize himself/herself with that place of business
and its operation.
F. Patrolling. During his/her tour of duty, a patrol
officer shall patrol every part of the City, frequently rechecking
locations where there is a potential of crime. He/She shall not patrol
so as to make any fixed schedule, and shall alternate frequently and
backtrack in order to be at a location when least expected.
G. Suspicious circumstances. When a door or window is
found open under suspicious or unusual circumstances or any tour of
duty, the patrol officer shall make a thorough investigation and determine,
if possible, whether a crime has been committed, and whether the door
or window can be secured. He/She shall, if necessary, summon assistance
to examine the business. He/She shall make an incident report stating
the time the business was found open and results of the investigation.
H. Summoning assistance. Under circumstances indicating
that a burglar is still inside a building, the officer should immediately
summon assistance and then stand guard until sufficient assistance
has arrived, at which time the building will be entered and searched.
I. Friendliness and consideration. A patrol officer shall
be friendly toward all children, and be ever watchful of their physical
and moral welfare. The patrol officer will be kind and considerate
to all elderly citizens and, when the need arises, assist if possible.
J. Traffic codes. Patrol officers are charged with the
enforcement of all provisions of the local and state traffic codes.
Failure to take appropriate action in traffic violations is considered
neglect of duty.
K. Complaints. A patrol officer shall investigate all
complaints which are assigned to him/her or brought to his/her attention
by a citizen. He/She shall take appropriate action if those cases
are within his/her jurisdiction and inform those parties involved
of the laws or ordinances pertaining to that incident. If legal action
is outside the patrol officer's jurisdiction, he/she shall refer the
parties involved to the proper authority.
L. Business safety. The front and rear doors of all businesses
shall be checked each shift, and the times of checking will be different
each night.
M. Radio answering. The duty officer shall always go
10-41 and 10-42 with METCOM or with the proper authority.
N. Leaving City. The officer will notify the proper authority
if it is necessary for him/her to leave the City, and arrangements
must be made to contact an off-duty officer, if a need arises, while
he/she is gone.
O. Squad leaving City. Under no circumstances will the
squad car be taken beyond the City limits except:
(1) Upon request from METCOM or a police officer from
the surrounding areas.
(2) Upon request from the Illinois State Police.
(3) To have the radio or radar repaired.
(5) The officer on duty, may, when deemed necessary and
weather permitting, take the squad car onto old U.S. 66 between the
points of Lexington and the Ballard Elevator, for the purpose of eliminating
rough running. The speed shall not exceed that of the maximum legal
speed limit.
P. Patrolling school and pool. The officer on daytime
duty shall patrol the school area during the start of school, at 12:00
noon, and when the school recesses for the day. Patrols must be made
around the school area whenever any event is taking place during evening
hours. The officer on duty shall patrol the swimming pool area whenever
the pool is open.
Q. Patrolling business district. During all shifts, the
officer on duty shall patrol the business district on foot, whenever
it is not necessary to be in the squad car and weather permitting.
During basketball games, the officer on duty should make at least
one appearance inside the gymnasium during the game. During track
meets, baseball games and other outside events, the officer should
make an appearance, whether walking or in the squad car.
No member of the Police Department except the
Chief shall serve any process except on command of the Chief of Police.
It shall be the duty of every member of the
Police Department to conduct himself/herself in a proper and law-abiding
manner at all times. Each member of the Department shall obey the
orders and directions of his/her superior.
Any member of the Police Department shall appear
as witness whenever this is necessary in a prosecution for a violation
of an ordinance or of any state or federal law. No such member shall
retain any witness fee for service as a witness in any action or suit
to which the City is a part; and fees paid for such services shall
be turned over to the Chief of Police, who shall deposit the same
with the City Treasurer.
The Chief of Police shall be the custodian of
all lost and abandoned or stolen property in the City. This property
shall be stored in Police Headquarters in the evidence locker. The
handling of all evidence or stolen property or lost and abandoned
property must be verified by multiple officers, simultaneously, with
the exception of initial storage of items by the arresting officer.
An inventory of all such property shall be maintained on file in the
Police Department. The property and inventory of the property shall
be made available upon request to two or more members of the Police
Committee or one Committee member and the Mayor.
It shall be the duty of every member of the
Police Department to obey the rules and regulations which have been
promulgated by the Mayor and City Council or which may hereafter be
adopted by the Mayor and City Council. Such rules and regulations
shall apply equally to each member of the Police Department, including
the Chief of Police.
The Chief of Police shall keep such records
and make such reports concerning the activities of his/her Department
as may be required by statute or by the City Council. The Chief shall
be responsible for the performance by the Police Department of all
its functions, and all persons who are members of the Police Department
shall serve subject to the orders of the Chief of Police.