Dear Visitors:

Thank you for taking the time to explore our website. Within these pages you will find information about our police department as well as how to report crime and request police services. The website is a valuable tool that helps link our police agency to the community. By providing an efficient mechanism for you to communicate with us we hope to enhance our level of service and accountability to our citizens. Within our website you find links to areas that include local crime alerts, newsworthy events, and various department programs.

The Village of Harwood Heights Police Department is a full service agency. The department is a member agency of the Major Crimes Assistance Team, Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System and Northern Illinois Police Alarm System which; consists of; mutual aid access, emergency service team officers and mobile field force officers. The department is presently working on national accreditation through CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies), the department will be accredited by 2008. The police department is heavily involved in training so officers can reach their full potential within the agency.

Our goal is to provide a safe and pleasant community for our citizens. In order to accomplish this we will employ innovative problem solving techniques, strategic planning, crisis intervention services, and emergency response and containment services along with the traditional law enforcement response to criminal incidents. Our goal is to confront problems head-on before crime occurs but, to take the necessary steps to protect the life and property of our citizens.

In addition to state law, community life is governed by a comprehensive set of municipal codes that the police department is charged with enforcing. Our goal with regard to these codes is to gain voluntary compliance. In this way we hope to build and maintain a pleasant community atmosphere and gain everyone’s cooperation in keeping the Village of Harwood Heights a safe and pleasant place to live and work. The police department works closely with the community and operates under the Community-Policing Philosophy. Each member is committed to the Mission of the Harwood Heights Police Department.

Sincerely,

Martin Podosek
Chief of Police