Public Safety Training Protocols and Use of Force Policies

The Glencoe Public Safety Model
The Glencoe Public Safety Department provides all emergency services in the Village, including police, fire and emergency medical services. The only fully consolidated department of its kind in the State of Illinois, all officers are fully cross-trained in all aspects of public safety service delivery. The Department is comprised of three separate operational divisions, providing police, fire and emergency medical services to the community. Since its inception in 1954, the unique nature of the public safety model eliminates the need for separate work forces as each Public Safety Officer is certified as a police officer, firefighter and emergency medical technician (EMT-B) or paramedic (EMT-P). EMT-B officers provide basic life support, while EMT-P officers provide advanced life support including invasive medical procedures and administration of medication. Officers provide services related to all three components, often during the same shift, regardless of primary duty assignment.

The Glencoe Public Safety model works because of Glencoe’s geographical size and location, population and the types and frequency of certain calls for service. The Glencoe model is particularly unique in that all officers, no matter what role they are assigned to while on duty, have the ability (and more importantly, the training) to step into a police, fire or EMS role. That means police units can respond to EMS calls and begin critical life-saving actions well before our ambulance arrives. It also means that fire shift officers can assist their colleagues on the police shift during critical police incidents and in-progress crimes, or simply help process and monitor arrestees at the station.

Public Safety Officer Training
The Glencoe Public Safety Department is committed to ensuring all public safety personnel are provided with the training and equipment to provide the residents of Glencoe the highest level of service. As a combined agency, the Public Safety Department must follow the mandates and meet the standards of the State agencies responsible for police, fire and EMS training and certification - the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB), the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal (OSFM) and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).

Click here to learn more about the Department's training, policies and use of force.

The Glencoe Public Safety Department has operational policies that cover all aspects of its law enforcement activities, officer accountability and personnel management.

In the interest of continuous improvement, the Department partnered with a nationally recognized vendor (Lexipol) in 2020 to update and validate all law enforcement policies. These policies incorporate existing legislation and case law, training mandates and industry best practices. In addition, the policies are constantly updated to reflect new legislation and our officers receive daily training bulletins specific to application of our policies while performing their duties.

In May 2022, Glencoe Public Safety was recognized by the Lexipol Connect program for achieving Silver level for consistently and effectively disseminating policies to officers, issuing timely policy updates as laws change, and ensuring officers are trained on policies.  Lexipol is the nation’s leading content, policy and training platform for public safety agencies; the Connect program tracks Glencoe Public Safety performance on five metrics proven to measure success in policy management. Glencoe Public Safety’s excellence in policy development and policy training enhances community safety by ensuring consistent, effective response based on national best practices.

The two safe policing principles that must be considered when assessing certification of applying law enforcement agencies include:

1. Adherence to applicable laws. The applying agency maintains use of force policies that adhere to all applicable federal, state and local laws.

2. Prohibition of choke holds. The applying agency maintains use of force policies that prohibit the use of choke holds, except in situations where the use of deadly force is allowed by law.

The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police (ILACP), Illinois' designated credentialing body, has determined that the Glencoe Public Safety Department meets the conditions for Certification. Accordingly, the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police has validated the Glencoe Public Safety Department as a use of force certified law enforcement agency to the U.S. Department of Justice.