Buffalo Grove police focus more on community engagement

Since Steven Casstevens became chief in 2013, the Buffalo Grove Police Department has changed its organizational philosophy.

Last year, longtime members of the department were promoted, including Mike Szos, who was named deputy chief, and Roy Bethge, who was promoted from sergeant to commander.

At Monday's village board meeting, the department will undergo another big change, when Bethge, a 25-year veteran, is sworn in as the department's second deputy chief. Tim Gretz, a 25-year veteran, is being promoted to lieutenant, and 18-year veteran Michelle Kondrat is being promoted to sergeant.

Szos will remain deputy chief of administration, while Bethge will be deputy chief in charge of field operations, which includes patrol and investigations.

“These promotions will enable the department to improve our relationships with the community, enhance delivery of services, and ensure that officers receive leadership and mentoring that is vital to having a successful organization,” Casstevens said.

The department operated with two deputy chiefs until one was eliminated a few years ago because of budgetary and other considerations.

Bethge said that as the department has evolved under the new chief, including efforts at community engagement, “it was pretty evident that we needed to bring that second deputy chief position back.”

Bethge was hired as a patrol officer in 1989, then did crime prevention and community relations before moving up to corporal. He was Buffalo Grove's 2009 Police Officer of the Year and that same year received the “Above & Beyond” — the Call of Duty Award.

Gretz has been a sergeant since 2007, with a background in criminal and narcotics investigations. He is a former D.A.R.E. officer, special operations officer and undercover agent and group supervisor in the Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Group.

Kondrat is an experienced investigator who was a school resource officer at Cooper Junior High for several years and a criminal investigator assigned to the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force, where she is assistant commander.

“Over the last couple of years, we have had so much positive change at the police department,” Bethge said. “Chief Casstevens has brought ... a new way of looking at doing business.”

Bethge said one goal is to get all the officers trained in crisis intervention. The department has officers specially trained to work with mentally ill people, to get them help rather than just process them through the system.

Referring to events Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City and the negative media attention on law enforcement, Bethge said it is important for the department to have “transparent, open communications with the community, a lot of educational programs, community officers getting out of their cars and interacting with the public.”

“These are things that are really important to build community support for the police,” Bethge added. “Officers do a hard job. They work 365 days a year, any kind of weather. They miss holidays. Sometimes some of those things get lost when these media storms happen now and then.”

He said he wants to maintain Buffalo Grove's reputation as a safe community. The village recently was recognized by the research firm Neighborhood Scout, which ranked Buffalo Grove 23rd among the 100 safest cities across the U.S.