The Orland Park Police Department is rolling out a new tool in its arsenal that it hopes will not only fight crime but make officers’ presence more visible in the community of some 60,000 residents.
The board voted unanimously Monday night to adopt the Patrol Cruise Lights Pilot Program that will have constant – not flashing – red and blue lights on marked police vehicles 24/7 to make people more aware of police presence.
Police Chief Eric Rossi told trustees that residents have called for a stepped-up police presence to increase public safety. The pilot program will begin January 1 and will focus on neighborhoods and shopping areas.
“The objective of the program is to increase officer visibility, enhance public safety and deter criminal activity through highly visible law enforcement presence,” Rossi said. He said research has consistently shown that a visible law enforcement presence serves as a significant deterrent to criminal behavior.
He noted that this is supported by the Routine Activity Theory, which notes that the presence of a ‘capable guardian’ – in this case police patrols – reduces opportunities for crime.
Orland will join the ranks of police departments in Williamson County (IL), Wilmington (NC), Miami, Kansas City (MO) and Worcester (MA) who have already adopted the program.
Mayor Jim Dodge said the idea behind this new program is “for people to see the officers and know that police have a bigger presence in the community.”
“We are going to start patrols in the neighborhoods and in the retail areas in non-peak hours when there is less traffic,” Dodge said. “We’re not going to be doing that down LaGrange Road. People are going to have to get used to this. Their normal tendency when they see police cars with lights on is to pull over and stop. We don’t want that.”
Dodge called PCL a philosophical redesign of routine patrol operations, leveraging technology to foster connections with the community.
The effect, he hopes, will catch on.
As more officers adopt Patrol Cruise Lights in their zones, the mayor said he hopes the anecdotal evidence becomes a statistical reality by creating moments of interaction: people feeling comfortable enough to ask minor questions, report non-emergency issues, or just exchange a wave.
Dodge said he hopes the program fundamentally changes the relationship between the badge and the neighborhood.
What you are going to see is people stopping thinking they did something wrong or people pulling over to the right to let the police car pass. Good intention but poor solution.