Law Enforcement Accreditation
The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), was formed in 1979 to establish a body of standards designed to:
- Increase Law enforcement agency capabilities to prevent and control crime.
- Increase agency effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of law enforcement services.
- Increase cooperation and coordination with other law enforcement agencies and with other agencies of the criminal justice system.
- Increase citizen and employee confidence in the goals, objectives, policies, and practices of the agency.
In addition, the Commission was formed to develop an accreditation process that provides law enforcement agencies an opportunity to demonstrate voluntarily that they meet an established set of professional standards. The Commission began accrediting police agencies in 1986.
The Lake Zurich Police Department was first accredited in 2006. The Department was reaccredited by the Commission in 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2019 demonstrating continued compliance with the Standards.
Comments, commendations, and other information regarding the agency's quality of service or other information relevant to the accreditation process can be submitted here. Please note that any information submitted is sent directly to CALEA and is not received by the agency.
CALEA Reports and Analysis
Vehicle Pursuits
The pursuit of a suspect fleeing in a motor vehicle presents a danger to the safety of the pursuing peace officers, the suspect, other motorists, and bystanders in the vicinity of the pursuit. The decision to initiate or continue a pursuit requires the discretion of the involved peace officers while weighing numerous factors under varying conditions.
During 2022, officers were involved in 7 incidents requiring the completion of the Pursuit Situation After-Action Report. 5 incidents were within established policy parameters. In two incidents the officer’s initiation of a vehicular pursuit were not within established policy parameters, but the terminations were within established policy parameters.
Analysis of Grievances
The Lake Zurich Police Department maintains a grievance procedure designed to resolve matters between employees and the employer fairly and expeditiously. A grievance is any complaint concerning working conditions, classification, salary, or other work-related matters.
An annual analysis of grievances is required to determine if a trend is observed and what steps may be taken to minimize the causes of such grievances in the future. There were no grievances filed on behalf of Lake Zurich Police Department employees during 2022 and only one in the previous nine years.
Bias Based Policing
The 2021 Illinois Traffic and Pedestrian Stop Study completed by The Mountain-Whisper-Light, Inc. for the Illinois Department of Transportation provides an analysis to detect racial profiling by comparing the number of stops by each agency of each racial group and comparing it to a benchmark population for the racial group. The spreadsheets indicate that stops performed by Lake Zurich police officers are within the benchmarks established by the study. No complaints in 2022.
Internal Investigations
The Lake Zurich Police Department follows an internal affairs policy to ensure prompt and thorough investigation of alleged transgressions and, if needed, take appropriate disciplinary action. During 2022, there were no incidents which required internal investigations. Incidents may be initiated by either an external or internal complaint. During 2022, there were five citizen complaints made against Lake Zurich police officers.
Investigation Yearly Summary
- Sustained: Allegation is supported by sufficient evidence
- Partially Sustained: Sufficient evidence exists to support part of the allegations made in the complaint
- Not Sustained: Insufficient evidence exists to prove or disprove the allegations
- Exonerated: Incident did occur, but the actions taken were lawful and proper
- Unfounded: Allegation is not factual.
- Sustained Other: Sustaining of violation or misconduct other than the allegations of the original complaint
Use-of-Force Analysis
Members of the Lake Zurich Police Department strive to accomplish the mission of the agency as efficiently as possible with the highest regard for the human dignity of all persons and with minimal reliance upon the use of physical force. The use of physical or deadly force should be restricted to circumstances authorized by law and only to accomplish lawful objectives. All sworn members of the Department are required to review the use-of-force policy annually. The policy is also reviewed during various training sessions throughout the year.
The Lake Zurich Police Department reviewed twelve use-of-force incidents in 2022. Eleven use-of-force incidents were determined to be within the guidelines of Department policy and procedure. Use-of-force by one officer was found to be unreasonable by command staff. While no policy changes were indicated, several training issues were identified. No patterns or trends were noted indicating the need for equipment upgrades.
Department Meets Executive Order on Safe Policing
The Lake Zurich Police Department has received the Federal Use of Force Certification through the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies. The certification is part of the Safe Policing for Safe Communities Executive Order enacted in June 2020. Specific policies of the department that were reviewed include use of reasonable and deadly force, de-escalation and crisis intervention, rendering of medical aid, restrictions on vascular restraints and choke holds, weapon proficiency training and the reporting/review of use of force incidents.