Palos Park Police Chief


Spring / Summer 2009 As we prepare for summer and the onset of warm weather, our focus is on a wide array of summer initiatives (Bike safety/helmets, Child Safety Seat Inspections, Mounted patrols, Bike patrols and Outdoor roll calls) all of which are programs we use during the warmer months.
Police Chief , Joe Miller
Our staff spent the winter working with the Palos Park & Cook County Emergency Management Agency to prepare for everything from terrorist strikes at our Metra Station and Water Pumping Station, to distributing pharmaceuticals to residents in case of a bio-terror attack. We recently conducted a “table top” mock disaster scenario, coordinated with Cook County and the Palos Fire Protection District. Commissioner Polk and Mayor Mahoney are currently working with our members of congress to secure grant funding under the Department of Justice Police Hiring Recovery program. We are also in the process of installing the Cook County Sheriff’s “Project Shield” in car camera wireless system, which is part of the Homeland Security initiative. We are a full service law enforcement agency with twenty-nine sworn officers who patrol the village twenty-four hours a day. We utilize Southwest Central Dispatch (SWCD), which has an Enhanced 911 system. We offer a wide array of community based programs that are available to you; Child Safety Genetikid DNA kits, a Police Cadet program for teens, an Emergency Service and Disaster Agency (E.S.D.A. program), Vacation Watch program, Home Safety checks, “You are Not Alone” program for senior well-being checks and the File for Life program. Additionally we offer a Senior Safety I.D. Bracelet program and a volunteer Citizen on Patrol Service (COPS). We are part of the Southwest Suburban Major Case Unit and the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force. We are also a founding member of the South Suburban Fire Investigation Task Force, comprised of local police, fire & Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents. The Palos Park Police Department is a very service oriented organization and we place quality service first and foremost. The Palos Park Police Department is a “Green” Police Department”, to that end, we have implemented a number of programs. E Reports (Police report completed electronically) Active E Alerts (electronic e mail alerts to our community) Active E Accident reports (Electronic transmission of reports to insurance companies) CodeRed Weather Notice System (Automated phone notification system) Active Project Shield with Cook County EMA (Wireless video system for patrol units) Virtual Printer (Software between SWCD and our internal reporting system to electronically transfer data from the dispatch center to our reporting database, thereby eliminating paper copies) actively in progress. Dan Polk, Police Commissioner Joe Miller, Chief of Police



Palos Park Police Chief Joe Miller - Biography Palos Park Police Chief Joe Miller began his career in policing while still in high school. In the late 1970’s he became a police cadet and attained the rank of Cadet Captain. After graduating from Brother Rice High School in Chicago, Joe worked for the Chicago Police Department in their Data Systems Unit. While attending college, Joe started as a dispatcher with the Orland Park Police Department and became an Orland Park officer in the early 1980’s. Joe attended recruit training at the Cook County Sheriff’s Academy. During his career Joe has worked as a Juvenile officer, Truck Enforcement officer, Arson investigator, detective, patrol sergeant, lieutenant, commander and deputy chief. In the summer of 1992 Joe became the Chief of Police in Orland Hills, Illinois where he served for six years. Joe holds a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal-SocialJustice from Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois, a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from Lewis University and a Master of Business Administration from Saint Xavier University in Chicago. He is a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command, Northwestern’s Executive Management Program, the F.B.I.’s Law Enforcement Executive Development program, DePaul University’s Human Resource Management program and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University’s Executive Management training. Joe currently teaches criminology and management courses at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, IL and Lewis University in Romeoville, IL. Joe is the past president of the 5^th District Police Chiefs Association and past president of the Greater Cook County Council of Police Chiefs. Starting In the fall of 2007 Joe will be participating in the ten month Northwestern University Center for Public Safety Senior Management Leadership program. He can often be found out patrolling the village on his bicycle, walking a beat, or in a patrol unit.