Campton Hills chief to beef up police patrols

Campton Hills officials have given Police Chief Greg Anderson permission to schedule part-time patrol officers for an additional 24 hours a week.

The increase is expected to cost the village an additional $7,600 for the remainder of this fiscal year but will not push the police department over budget, officials said.

Anderson said the extra hours will allow part-timers to become accustomed to regular shifts. It also will free up full-timers for other community-oriented assignments, he said.

"I need to give them (part-time officers) regular hours so they can become familiar with our procedures and the lay of the land, so they have a continual stake in the village," the chief said.

"It's necessary for the effectiveness of the department and the effectiveness of the part-time officers."

The village has six full-time officers who receive salaries, and four part-time officers who are paid $21.50 an hour. Adding 24 part-time hours a week creates nearly $27,000 a year in additional expenses.

The village appropriated $144,864 for police salaries, Anderson said, but has not used all the money.

Village President Patsy Smith said Anderson didn't need permission from the village board to expand the schedule because he still would be operating within budget, but village officials wanted to review the request first and make sure they weren't "over-committing."

At a meeting this week, Trustee Bern Bertsche was complimentary of Anderson's running of the department so far and said he felt comfortable granting his request.

"You can tell they (officers) know what they're doing," he said. "I've really been happy with what I've seen."