Patrol officers are primarily the first contact with citizens and must be “master generalists,” adept at handling a vast array of calls for service. In the course of their 12-hour tour of duty, they can be involved in everything from a barking dog to a speeding motorist to a case of fraud. The Patrol Division seeks to reinforce a positive daily interaction with citizens, building relationships necessary to carry a department and community through any crisis. The Patrol Division will continue to build upon the professionalism and Commitment to Excellence during the coming years by strengthening its relationship with the community and within the Department. To maintain solid, trusting relationships requires constant efforts at problem resolution, accountability, and both “thinking outside the box” and “looking at the big picture.” This requires book smarts AND street smarts, with a large helping of diplomacy and tact. We are fortunate the Village has been proactive on giving officers the tools they need to do their job, to include squad cars, duty gear, and providing a high level of training. The Patrol Sergeants each supervise a shift of 4-5 officers, coordinating enforcement efforts and programs governed by state and local laws, and Village Board or citizen feedback. For example, Day Shift teams primarily focus on school zones and traffic, whereas Night Shift teams focus on neighborhood/business patrol and DUI enforcement. Duties vary constantly with whatever challenge a new day or night brings. The Sergeants work to evaluate, encourage, inspire, and teach their officers how to be the best they can and serve the community well.

Contrary to the various crime-solving television shows, criminal investigations involve a lot of paperwork, follow-up, and pavement-pounding, and are not very exciting to the average person. However, being able to solve a crime IS very exciting to a detective; and becomes that “carrot dangling” motivation to continue the “drudge work.” Most cases start in Patrol, and based on level of complexity or time required, are assigned to Investigations. Therefore, Investigations and Patrol must constantly communicate and coordinate to ensure the highest level of solution possible. Investigations also works with Patrol on selective enforcement of identified criminal actions, such as construction theft. Sometimes where little preliminary evidence is available, they can dig deeper and determine cause or suspects that can lead to solving a case. The “critical thinkers” of a Department usually end up in Investigations. Detectives are trained beyond the basic Interview and Interrogation to obtain more details and evidence to piece together facts. Specialized areas also include juvenile investigations, cyber crime, identity fraud, and many other types of crimes not fully experienced by a street officer. The changes within the Village of Plainfield yield new situations, and become a constant learning experience to stay on top of crime-solving techniques and data collection for investigating particular types of cases; i.e., retail theft, financial crimes over the internet, or construction theft.

The Traffic Unit is dedicated and designed to respond to areas experiencing traffic problems such as a high volume of traffic crashes, speeding vehicles, stop sign violations, or any other traffic complaint received from citizens. Traffic officers do not normally respond to typical calls for service but rather focus their entire day on traffic related matters.

Traffic officers receive specialized training and utilize special equipment in areas such as crash reconstruction/investigation, commercial motor vehicle enforcement, child passenger restraint installation, intoxicated motorist detection, and the use of advanced speed measuring devices.

By using education, enforcement, and engineering techniques, the Traffic Unit strives to reduce both property damage and injury traffic crashes and address individual citizen complaints in a timely and efficient manner in order to improve the safety and quality of life of the residents in the Village of Plainfield and the general motoring public as a whole.

A CSO is a civilian position staffed by both full and part-time employees. A CSO’s primary responsibilities focus on enhancing all aspects of the Police Department by providing manpower where needed including: ensuring safety at all school crossings, parking enforcement, animal calls, and assisting with other various service related calls.

The School Resource Officer [SRO] Program is a school-based, community policing program comprised of specially trained officers and designed to create positive relationships between officers, students, staff, and parents. These officers are self-motivated individuals who have several years of police experience and have demonstrated the ability to effectively engage the public and work with youth.  

This program consists of five SROs - one assigned to each high school, one to the Plainfield Academy, and one middle school SRO. The SROs assist the school administration with investigation of criminal activity and help to ensure a safe and secure learning environment. SROs also provide classroom presentations for driver’s education programs, street law classes, government classes, and health classes. SROs conduct the surprise lockdown drills at all schools located within the Village limits.

The Plainfield Police D.A.R.E. Officers handle the Village’s elementary schools. 

All SROs and D.A.R.E. Officers receive their certification from the Illinois State Training and Standards Board certifying them as School Resource Officers.  This certification is now required by state law for any officer working as an SRO in the schools.

SRO Supervisor – Detective Sergeant Colin Mulacek, (815) 439-7654

Plainfield Academy - Officer Brian Wagner
   
Plainfield High School Central Campus – Officer Dean Klier

Plainfield North High School – Officer Jeff Kaminski

Plainfield East High School – Officer Russ Pruchnicki

Middle School SRO – Officer Steve Shervino

DARE Officers  

Officer Erin Cook

Officer Marissa Solorio

 The Plainfield DARE program is a 20-week program to provide fifth grade students the tools to make proper decisions as they enter some of the most challenging years of adolescence. Plainfield’s DARE Program is taught by two full time DARE Officers. 

DARE uses a culturally grounded approach that acknowledges the importance of cultural differences and similarities in the effectiveness of communication strategies and norms surrounding substance use. The program focuses on bullying, cyber bullying, suicide prevention, domestic violence, the opioid epidemic, mass shooting awareness, and human trafficking. DARE teaches healthy decision-making skills through activities played with their peers that build muscle memory in how to respond in high peer-pressure situations. 

At the end of the school year, students put what they learned into practice with a school project and celebrate their accomplishments with a graduation party.  Each DARE graduate entering 6th-8th grade is invited to the DARE pool party every July.  The program is funded through by student fundraising efforts  which include prizes and a dance at the Police Department.

The Evidence Technician is an officer who is specially trained to collect, package, and process all types of evidence. Our police facility is equipped with a state-of-the-art evidence laboratory to assist the ET in performing his/her duties. In addition, the Evidence Technician acts as a liaison between the various crime laboratories.

The Bicycle Patrol Unit operates during the warm weather months. This unit provides a uniformed patrol officer to areas of our jurisdiction which would otherwise be inaccessible. The Bike Unit is responsible for patrolling pathways and park areas; they are additionally utilized during special events and festivals.

The Plainfield Police Department in conjunction with the Plainfield Fire Protection District has committed several members to additional training in order to investigate all fires that occur within the Village of Plainfield and the Plainfield Fire Protection District. These firefighters and police officers investigate fire scenes to determine the origin of the fire and also the cause. If the cause of the fire is ruled as arson the investigation continues until an offender is brought to justice. The members of this team also work in conjunction with the MABAS 15 Cause and Origin Team made up of fire/arson investigators from Will, Grundy, and Kendall Counties; and the South Suburban Fire Investigation Task Force which includes investigators from several fire and police departments, members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and State's Attorneys for several counties in the Chicago suburbs. To contact a fire/arson investigator in Plainfield, call either the Plainfield Police Department at 815-439-4803 or the Plainfield Fire Protection District at 815-436-5335.

The Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System (ILEAS), which is the mutual-aid component for law enforcement in Illinois, has created several state-wide response teams to respond to, and assist at any major emergency or disaster that may impact a community and their police force within the State. The teams are comprised of up to seventy (70) police officers formed into a Mobile Field Force Team. These teams can respond in a short period of time to any disturbance, protest, or request for assistance from an affected jurisdiction; and once deployed, provide a supplemental police presence until the emergency or situation has been brought under control. These teams would also be the primary responders to another State's request for assistance during a major event or disaster.

 Plainfield has taken the responsibility and the lead in operating a Mobile Field Force Team for this region of the state (Region 3-Central). The team members have been chosen from over twenty-five (25) police and fire departments from around the Will, Grundy, Kendall, DuPage, and LaSalle County area. The Team became certified in 2007 and has responded to numerous local, State, and National events and emergencies.

 

Members of the Plainfield Police Department belong to two different high-risk tactical teams, commonly referred to as “SWAT” teams. Two Plainfield Officers are members of the Joliet Police Department’s Special Operations Squad (SOS) and two Plainfield Officers are members of the Kendall County Special Response Team (SRT).  Either one of these teams can respond high risk incidents within the Village of Plainfield. Some types of calls these teams will handle are:
Barricaded Subject
Armed Standoff
High Risk Arrest / Search Warrant
Hostage Situation
Dignitary Protection

In addition to having operators assigned to the above “SWAT” teams, Plainfield has one officer assigned to the Joliet Special Operations Negotiation Team. 

By having members of the Plainfield Police Department be a part of these two teams it provides the Village of Plainfield with additional resources to handle critical incidents that may arise.