By Marney Simon |Enterprise Staff
The Plainfield Police Department may have a smaller staff than other local law enforcement agencies. But, its top cop says that doesn’t keep those officers from providing quality service, helping put crime on a downward trend in town.
On Oct 22, Police Chief John Konopek gave a brief report on the status of the PPD to the village board’s committee of the whole, noting that while the PPD is a smaller department than other towns of comparable population, the PPD officers actually cover more ground.
The department has a total of 55 sworn officers, an average of 1.25 officers per 1,000 residents.
Konopek noted that one thing that sets Plainfield apart from other towns are the amount of school resource officers (SROs) working in local high schools.
“There are jurisdictions that have well over 100,000 people that don’t have the number of high schools that we have in our community here, having roughly 45,000 people in our community. So, that’s one thing that makes us really unique, is that right off the top we have 55 officers, four of those officers are immediately dedicated to work in the schools,” Konopek said.
The chief said there had been talk of removing SROs and utilizing zone officers to respond to the local high school campuses. But, he said, that plan would put zone officers at a disadvantage, versus SROs who can treat the high schools as a single jurisdiction where they are in charge of law enforcement issues.
And, he said, they aren’t just at the local high schools to make potential arrests.
“Our officers within the schools really are an entity on to themselves,” Konopek said. “They aren’t just there for the enforcement part of it, which obviously is the most visible thing, but I can tell you that our officers in the school actually teach classes. They teach classes related to driver’s ed, they teach classes related to constitutional law, they’re actually teaching classes on how teenagers should interact with the police during traffic stops and other encounters on the street, in vehicles and in other places.
Pplainfield Police Department Chief John Konopek said crime is trending downward in the village. The total crimes reported to the PPD as of this month is 274, compared to a total of 383 in calendar year 2017. (Photo by Marney Simon)
“So, our officers are not only enforcing the law, but also trying to teach the law so that teenagers and in some instances even school staff… to help them interact better with law enforcement, not just in Plainfield but throughout the entire area.”
Konopek also gave a brief rundown of the 2018 year to date crime stats for the village.
The total crimes reported to the PPD as of this month is 274, compared to a total of 383 in calendar year 2017.
This year’s reported crimes include:
- Robbery – 5
- Burglary – 18
- Theft – 205
- Motor vehicle theft – 16
- Aggravate assault/aggravated battery – 18
- Rape – 12
The department has not had any homicides or arsons in 2018.
“Our numbers do continue to trend down,” Konopek said. “The trend has been trending down as far as physical calls throughout the village, violence against people, property crimes, things like that.”
The chief said a downward trend in retail theft and burglary is due in part to partnerships built throughout the village. According to the chief, the village is bringing quality developments and quality businesses to town, and buildings and code enforcement a stay on top of those developments to make sure they are built property.
“It’s proven time and time again in other communities that if you let a property deteriorate, if you let it deplete itself, that is going to bring in an entirely different element of quality of life, and you’re going to see a decline in quality of life and an increase in crime,” Konopek said. “So, all those different caveats, all those groups bringing together, is really what brings these crime trends down and keeps these crime trends low in Plainfield. It’s not just something the police does.”
In terms of complaints, Konopek said that traffic issues are the number one complaint to the department. So far in 2018, traffic citations have trended upward, while crashes are trending down.
The chief noted that officers are also currently training on mental health issues, to grow their skills to deescalate certain situations.
“Quite frankly some of the things our officers deal with are things that people should never have to see,” Konopek said. “It leaves a lasting mark on you. So, we are working to not only work on the mental health issues in our community, but also any within our department.”
Konopek said the department operates on certain core values, including integrity, compassion, dedication, accountability, professionalism, respect, and equality. The chief said his officers take those values seriously, both in and out of uniform.
“We’ve had a very good track record of our employees following these core values, both in their professional lives… but even in their personal lives,” Konopek said. “When you’re in the law enforcement profession, you’re never really off duty. You’re always under the microscope whether you are acting under the color of law or whether you’re just out in public off duty. If you’re off duty and something happens in front of you, you’re always under that public eye scrutiny. So, I’m happy to say that our personnel, both when they’re on duty and off duty, they do abide by our core values.”
The department added two new officers in the current fiscal year. There are no plans to add additional officers in the upcoming year.