Loves Park police having success interacting with the public

By Margaret Downing

REPORTER

At the Aug. 8 Loves Park City Council meeting aldermen heard from Loves Park Police Chief Chuck Lynde how his department is interacting with the community.

Lynde explained that attendance at the past couple of National Night Out local events has been diminishing and the department has come up with its own way of relating to residents.

Lynde had this to say: “Like any community, our residents want a safe place to live, play and work. To make that possible, we know that enforcement must be our primary roll. As they have always done, our officers come to work every day without a thought about what they might encounter during their shift.

“But times have changed. Our country has lost 20 police officers in just the past month. Police work can be much more challenging than it was only a decade ago. We know that we can’t be successful without a healthy relationship with the community that we serve.

“In light of that, after discussions with Mayor Lindberg, we challenged our officers to find ways to interact with the community on a regular basis, in a non-enforcement way. The benefit from interaction with residents is a healthy relationship with those we serve. Simply put, as long as our interaction is sincere, we will be looked upon in a more positive light.

“Equally as important as the public’s perception of police, is our perception of those we serve. Regular non-enforcement interaction will change how police officers feel about those we serve. We will look upon those we serve in a more positive light.

“Our officers are discussing ways to interact with the public, which keeps them thinking about those we serve in a way we’ve probably never thought of before.

“Since challenging our officers to make regular non-enforcement contact with residents, we have assisted Gi-Gi’s Playhouse at a lemonade stand, attended a basketball camp and challenged the best shooters to a free-throw competition, brought Metro Ambulance to Park Towers where we provided tea, cookies, and conversation about ways to stay safe during the hot temperatures, put up an “Ask a Cop a Question” stand, and handed out popsicles to kids at Wantz Park.”

Loves Park police hosted a “Strong Neighborhood Picnic” on Aug. 11 at Maple School and were also in the process of setting up an “Ice Cream Meet” at the Dairy Depot.

As Chief Lynde stated, “While National Night Out is a very popular nationwide event, attendance in Loves Park has been declining for our local Night Out for the past year or so. We have made more contacts with residents in the first month of our current approach to community policing. And, as the ideas keep flowing from our officers, we think the benefit will be greater.”

In other business, the council approved payment of $19,503.45 in water department bills, and $68,469.83 in general fund and all other bills, as presented Aug. 1.

Alderman Clint Little gave the weekly police activity report for the week of July 31 through August 6, in which 552 calls for service, 225 arrests, and seven accidents were reported. On the fire department report dated August 7, two fire alarm calls, one public service call, and two mutual aid calls were logged for the week.

A resolution was approved authorizing Mayor Darryl Lindberg to hire Odling Construction Co. “to refurbish areas of the canopy and soffit areas of the front entryway” to the city municipal building at a cost not to exceed $9,275. The price also includes clean up and removal of all debris.

A special event permit with fee waiver for the Harlem Fans Club “to hold a fundraiser Sept. 10 with amplified music and alcohol within a fenced area in the parking lot of the Backyard Grill and Bar” in the Meadowmart shopping center from 4 to 10 p.m. was okayed.

Resolutions approving the Plat of Mercy Health Alpine Subdivision and the Family Video Loves Park Subdivision were passed.

A resolution giving the public works manager the go-ahead to seek proposals for bridge and dam inspections in accordance with Illinois Department of Transportation specifications was approved.

A resolution authorizing Baxter Woodman Consulting Engineers of Crystal Lake to perform additional engineering services at Well No. 4 at a cost not to exceed $6,750 was also approved.

A resolution authorizing the purchase of four “Type 3” traffic barricades from a Wisconsin company for $882.28 was passed.

A resolution authorizing the purchase of a “chipper box” from a company in Dixon for the street department for a price of $1,165 was okayed with $3,000 in trade-ins by the city of some equipment.

Approval was given through a resolution that authorizes the city to seek negotiated bids for a replacement door at the water department.