What Wheaton's new police chief plans for department

Jim Volpe is quickly learning that being a police chief is not a desk job.

"It's an interesting role," he said. "This role demands a lot of visibility. The citizens want to see you, the officers want to see you, they want to see that you have this stake in the city and how the officers perform and how we interrelate."

Volpe has been busy meeting people in the community since he became Wheaton's chief in early November to replace Mark Field, who held the post for 19 years.

Volpe, a 32-year veteran of the department, didn't apply for the job. Instead, Field recommended he take over upon his retirement.

Volpe said Field left him with a strong and talented department.

"There's not a lot that's broke here that needs fixing," he said. "It's more or less let's see what the next challenge is for our agency and let's attack it. We have enough of that with changes in the law and changes in perception."

For example, he said, the department will have to weigh whether it wants to start looking toward using body cameras. He said it's also important to be "very conscious" of issues permeating society, such as racial profiling and concerns with police using excessive force.

"Here in Wheaton, I've never been involved in anything remotely like racial profiling, but that doesn't mean citizens don't have a perception that it could be happening," he said. "I think we always have to be very on guard with that and very on top of it, with making sure that citizens know that we don't do some of things they might be reading about."

While money is necessary to run a police department, Volpe said officers don't always need the latest pieces of equipment or new cars every year.

"What we need is just individuals who really want to do a good job and they will make that happen, whether they have a car with 100,000 miles on it or 10,000 miles on it, whether they have the brand new uniform or one that's a little bit tattered," he said.

Volpe is overseeing 65 sworn police officers. He said there are no plans to increase the number of officers, but when one retires or leaves they are replaced.

The department is divided into a patrol division and an investigation division.

Volpe already has decided a change in structure is needed, since the investigation commander supervises only about 10 people, compared to the patrol commander, who leads about 65. On Jan. 31, the department will be split into operations and support divisions that are more evenly divided, with a deputy chief running each.

Volpe said he expects the department to continue providing the service the community expects in a professional, efficient manner and plans to keep the community involved in the department's effort to control crime.

"If we're not doing that, I want to know about it," he said.