Palos Park Police Chief

Spring/Summer, 2010 Dear Palos Park Resident: As we prepare for warm weather, the men and women of the Palos Park Police Department continue to work with Police Commissioner Dan Polk and Mayor Mahoney to explore all viable options in resource allocation in these very turbulent financial times. Our goal is to sustain our three main components, staffing, training and equipment.
Police Chief , Joe Miller
With the onset of warm weather, we focus our efforts on a wide array of summer initiatives, Bike safety, Bike patrols, Walk and Talk patrol, Mounted unit patrols, Child Safety Seat Inspections and out door rolling roll calls. All designed to enhance our patrol presence in the community and present an Omni presence to those seeking to commit a crime in Palos Park. Our agency is a full service law enforcement agency with twenty-nine sworn officers who patrol the village twenty-four hours a day. We staff our field officers predicated on peak days and times when we need the most staff available. We utilize Southwest Central Dispatch, which has an Enhanced 911 system, which also serves the Palos Fire Protection District. Some of the programs we offer include, Child Safety DNA Kits, a Police Cadet program for teens, an Emergency Management Service Agency (EMA), 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 Patrol Service (COPS). We are utilizing a Federal grant for technology to install new in car computers in some patrol units. We work very closely with the Orland Park and Palos Heights Police Department’s; we also train jointly with their officers. We are part of the Southwest Suburban Major Case Unit and the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force. The Palos Park Police Department is a very service oriented organization and we place quality service first and foremost. Please free to stop by our facility, call us at 708 671 3770 or e-mail Chief Miller at jmiller@palospark.org. Welcome to the Village of Palos Park, we look forward to serving you. Sincerely, 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-Social Justice 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, Northwester’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 5th District Police Chiefs Association and past president of the Greater Cook County Council of Police Chiefs. Joe just completed the ten month Northwestern University Center for Public Safety Senior Management Leadership Program and is enrolled in The Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security courses designed for homeland defense and security professionals who wish to enhance their understanding of key homeland security concepts.

Spring/Summer, 2010