advertisement

Schaumburg police to bring back lieutenant jobs

Schaumburg will shortly reinstate two lieutenant positions in its police department to supply an extra level of supervision that consultants believe was lacking since they were dropped in a 2011 restructuring.

These two lieutenants will oversee the investigations and traffic divisions respectively, providing both a supervisory and mentoring role, Interim Police Chief Ken Bouche said.

Bouche is not only the current head of the police department, but also a member of Hillard Heintze — the law enforcement consultant agency hired to provide a thorough review of the department after three undercover officers were charged in January with conspiring with drug dealers to sell drugs their unit had seized as evidence.

Questions lingered in the aftermath of the arrests over how much supervision the three officers had received while their direct supervisor was on medical leave.

Schaumburg’s public safety committee backed Bouche’s recommendation Thursday, and the reinstatement of the lieutenant positions will go before the village board for a final vote June 25.

Though this particular recommendation requires board approval, Bouche said he is implementing what changes he can as police chief as soon as Hillard Heintze’s study is identifying their need.

“We don’t want to wait until there’s a problem,” Bouche said. “The things we can fix, we’re fixing. We’re not waiting for the report.”

That report, summing up Hillard Heintze’s findings and recommendations from its three-month study of the department, is expected to be presented to the village board in July.

The report will contain not only recommended practical changes that may or may not have already been implemented, but also longer-term philosophical changes for the board to consider.

Hillard Heintze has also been engaged to assist in the search for a new permanent police chief before the end of the year. Former police chief Brian Howerton retired in early April.

Schaumburg Village Manager Ken Fritz announced his own late-summer retirement Thursday and is unlikely to play the role he otherwise would have in the choice of a new police chief.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.