History 5

1995

The Foot Patrol Bureau is renamed the COPPS Bureau (Community-Oriented Policing and Problem Solving) to reflect a broader bureau mission.

The ETHS Beat School/Liaison Program is created to coordinate safety and police-related issues at the Evanston Township High School and in the surrounding neighborhoods. Officer Carl Babb-Fowler, a 1978 ETHS graduate, becomes the first beat officer assigned to the high school.

A Citizen Police Academy is established for the purpose of offering evening instruction (2 hours/week for 10 weeks), free of charge, to citizens wanting to learn more about the functioning of the police department. In addition to classroom instruction, students spend several hours observing police dispatch in the Communication Center and ride along with patrol officers in their squad cars. The first series of classes begins on March 7. Frank Kreml [see 1929, 1932, 1936, and 1999] is the featured speaker at the first graduation with 19 students. With strong public interest, a second class of 21 students was held in the fall of 1995. Two graduating classes each year, spring and fall, become the academy’s tradition.

NET, the Neighborhood Enforcement Team, replaces WEDGE [see 1990].

1996

Frank Kaminski

Deputy Chief Frank Kaminski is promoted October 14 to chief of police.

After 27 years as bargaining agent for sworn personnel and telecommunicators, the Combined Counties Police Association lost reelection—garnering only four votes. The Fraternal Order of Police received 37. The Teamsters were elected, with 84 votes. No votes were cast in favor of not being represented by a union.

To rejuvenate the department’s commitment to serving the community, the Partnership logo and motto is changed to The Evanston Police and Community Working Together

The change from The Partnership—We Walk Together (1987) emphasizes the shift in community policing from specialized units to a departmentwide strategy. The Partnership also is made a part of the department’s new mission and value statement.

Princess Di’s visit to N.U., the Olympic Torch Train, the Chicago Bulls’ continued NBA championship, and the N.U. Wildcats’ first winning football season in many years—all provide a challenge to the department’s special events planning abilities.

1997

Chief Kaminski significantly reorganizes the department to streamline management and to work more effectively with the community using community-oriented policing methods. The last deputy chief position is eliminated, reducing the layers of management from five to four: chief, commander, lieutenant, and sergeant. A specialized unit, the Problem Solving Team, is placed under the direction of the chief and staffed with youth/school officers, community policing officers, crime prevention officers and park rangers. Retaining the bicycle patrols, the new unit is an expansion of the COPPS unit, formerly assigned to patrol. The PST unit is placed centrally in the organizational structure to allow team members to work with each division and the community to solve crime and disorder problems.

The Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association is formed to create an organization of citizen volunteers to assist the department and the community. Some of their first contributions include sponsoring retraining classes for CPA alumni, participating in the 4th of July parade, and assisting with the annual citywide community/youth picnic.

Twenty-seven citizens accept Chief Kaminski’s invitation to form the Police Advisory Board. Representing Evanston ’s diverse community, the board is formed to advise the chief about the community’s perception of crime and disorder, to provide feedback about the department’s plans and activities, and to discuss police and community problems.

The DARE Program, formerly operated by youth officers in the Juvenile Bureau, is incorporated into the new School Liaison Program, operating out of the new Problem Solving Team. DARE officers John Lindley and Charlie McNeal are joined by youth officers Carl Babb-Fowler and Michael Keenum to become the new school resource officers. Under the new program, the SROs, while continuing to present the DARE program, are more involved in other school activities and are available to assist with youth problems in and around the school neighborhood. Local businessman Joe Levy donates three colorful classic cars—a burnt-orange 1982 Buick Century, a turquoise 1973 Chrysler Newport, and a black 1971 Pontiac Grand Prix—for the officers to drive, heightening the visibility of the program.

The department’s first police chaplaincy program is started with three members from the Police Clergy Team: Reverend John F. Norwood of Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church , Rabbi Dov H. Klein of Tannenbaum Chabad House, and Father Robert H. Oldershaw of St. Nicholas Catholic Church. Youth/school officer (and chaplain program coordinator) Charlie McNeal laid the groundwork for implementing the program to provide spiritual support and guidance to all members of the department and to people in crisis throughout the community.

Members of the Detective Bureau, with members of twelve other north suburban police departments, form the North Regional Major Crimes Task Force (NORTAF) to provide participating departments with greater investigative resources and skills than any one department could apply to a major crime within its own jurisdiction. Evanston 's Commander Charles Wernick is appointed NORTAF’s first Operations Commander. [See 1999]

For the first time in many years, a new, permanent eighth beat is added to the existing beat structure. Beat 78 is established on the evening and midnight shifts to increase police visibility and improve police response in southeast Evanston .

1998

Twenty-five police officers initiate the department’s Police Officer Baseball Card Program. Like the cards of big league athletes, each of the police baseball cards has an officer’s name and photo on the front and biographical information and a personal comment on the back. Young people are encouraged to collect all 25 cards.

Two initiatives further involve citizens in department activities and community problem solving. Under the Disabled Parking Enforcement Project, trained citizens issue 513 parking citations to violators of disabled parking restrictions. The department loans radar guns to trained citizens under the Speed Awareness Program to monitor speeding vehicles in their neighborhoods. The citizens cannot issue citations, but the chief sends identified speedsters a letter of reprimand and warning.

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