St. Charles police seeking accreditation

St. Charles Police Chief James Keegan received numerous phone calls and emails last summer from residents concerned about department policies.

Protests and civil unrest were sweeping the nation in the wake of police brutality cases, but Keegan could tell residents the St. Charles Police Department follows procedures based on 490 standards established by an independent assessment group of law enforcement experts.

The police department first received certification from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies in 1987, becoming the first city in the Fox Valley and one of the first in the state to earn the distinction.

Last certified in 2017, St. Charles is beginning the process of again earning CALEA accreditation. While a team of out-of-state CALEA assessors will examine every aspect of department procedures next week, the public also is encouraged to provide input.

"We open all of our files and our books, if you will, and it's a very transparent process," Keegan said. "Anything that relates to any policy we have on whatever it may be - use of force or bias-based policing, for example - any kind of documentation, photos or video we have is shared with them."

Anyone interested in participating can attend the session at 5 p.m. on April 13 in the St. Charles Police Department community room at 1515 West Main St. Residents also can call (630) 443-3719 between 1 and 3 p.m. that day.

The assessors will contact numerous entities associated with the police department including the department social worker, members of the dispatch center, task forces and surrounding police departments, and the offices of the state's attorney and public defender.

Because of COVID-19 protocols, the assessments will be done remotely this year. If the St. Charles Police Department earns accreditation again, the department must submit to remote checks and provide annual reports to demonstrate continued compliance.

"There's a saying I like to use with my staff and that's 'the policy needs to match the practice and the practice needs to match the policy,'" Keegan said. "That's what the assessors look for when they come in. They want to make sure the policies and practices match each other."