Schaumburg reports progress of new drug task force
A year after a Northwest Cook County office of the North Central Narcotics Task Force replaced Schaumburg's own undercover drug unit, Schaumburg Police Chief James Lamkin reported this week on the new agency's progress.
Overseen by Illinois State Police, the task force began on July 1, 2014, with one officer each from Schaumburg, Arlington Heights and Hanover Park. Palatine and Streamwood also contributed officers starting in January.
Schaumburg began soliciting members for a new shared agency following a consultant's recommendation to disband its own narcotics unit in 2013. In January of that year, three of its undercover officers were arrested on drug conspiracy charges, some of which involved shaking down drug dealers for money.
The Northwest Cook County office is the third that is part of Illinois State Police's North Central Narcotics Task Force. The office opened 86 of the agency's 218 cases during the past year.
In the last 12 months, the office has made numerous arrests and seized significant amounts of drugs, weapons and currency, Lamkin told Schaumburg's public safety committee.
Among the drugs seized were 20,490 grams of marijuana, 1,300 grams of cocaine and crack, 3,130 units of ecstasy and 131 grams of heroin. Also confiscated were various amounts of marijuana plants, codeine, hashish, hydrocodone, LSD, meth, psilocybin and steroids. Officers seized $63,127 in cash, $27,298 in property and 17 weapons, including firearms.
Lamkin said the office has fulfilled the promise of a collaborative, multijurisdictional agency under the oversight of state police.
"We work in a world today where we value collaboration with our partners," Lamkin said. "Drug enforcement doesn't stop at any community's borders."
While an obvious police presence on the streets is one effective way to enforce drug laws, there is also a value for departments that have the resources to complement that with covert operations, Lamkin said.
"Some of this work is our local responsibility," he said. "Where we can do this, we should do this. But we're not out here to advertise that we have this. Are we patting ourselves on the back? Not really."
Schaumburg Trustee Frank Kozak, who chairs the public safety committee, said Lamkin's report answered a lot of the initial questions about the direction of the new task force. Kozak added that Schaumburg is pleased with the equipment and personnel member agencies have access to in different crime-fighting and investigative scenarios.
"It's very impressive, how it's organized and how it's run. We're very happy with it," he said.
Lamkin said that while there are no other police departments currently poised to join the agency, the door is always open to them.