Special Services Division

The Traffic Safety Officer (TSO) is a sworn Police Officer specially trained in areas such as:

• Solving Neighborhood Traffic Problems
• Community Education
• Problem Oriented Policing

The St. Charles Police Department currently has one Traffic Safety Officer on staff.

Crime Prevention Officer

The St. Charles Police Department currently has one Crime Prevention Officer (CPO) on staff. The CPO is a sworn Police Officer specially trained in a variety of crime prevention, crime analysis, and educational areas. In addition, the CPO is the department's comfort dog handler and facilitates the instruction of the Too Good for Drugs^TM program in our local schools. Their responsibilities also include overseeing many of the crime prevention programs and activities designed to reduce the chances that citizens and businesses become victims of crime. These programs include:

• Too Good for Drugs^TM
• Citizen Police Academy (CPA)
• Youth Police Academy
• Spanish Citizen Police Academy
• Elder Watch Program
• Police Department Tours
• Ride-Along Program 
• Home Security Survey & Walk-through
• St. Charles Youth Commission Liaison
• Kane County Senior Services / TRIAD Board Liaison
• Kane County Hoarding Task Force
• Quarterly Crime Prevention publications
• Comfort Dog Handler

Our Crime Prevention Officer is dedicated to helping citizens of all ages practice good habits for the safety of themselves and their property. 

The St. Charles Police Department has one full-time Community Service Officer (CSO) and one part-time CSO. The CSO is a non-sworn, civilian member of the department who performs a variety of tasks in support of all divisions of the Police Department. Those tasks include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Animal complaints
• Motorist assists
• Traffic control
• Parking enforcement
• Minor traffic crashes on private property
• Ordinance violations
• Assists with booking/processing of arrestees
• Responding to other non-criminal calls for service 
• Daily transfer of documents between the department and agencies such as, the Kane County Circuit Clerk, the Kane County State’s Attorney, and Tri Com Central Dispatch
• Child car seat checks
• Delivery of vehicles for maintenance and repair
• Transfer of evidence to and from state crime labs
• Evidence processing and property control.

The St. Charles Police Department has a full-time position that is responsible for the department's Community Restitution Program part-time and performs Community Service Officer (CSO) duties part-time.

Community Restitution Program

The Community Restitution Program is a non-profit work site which operates under the St. Charles Police Department. It works closely with the local court systems in Kane County and surrounding areas to coordinate community work for defendants referred to the program. The program has been in existence since 2012 and has proven to be an important contributing asset to the Police Department, as well as the businesses and residents of the City of St. Charles. Those assigned to the program are expected to complete specific hours of labor as restitution to the community.

Participants in the Program

Participants are assigned to work a number of hours by court order. The program accepts adults and juveniles who are charged with non-violent offenses. During the 2023, 87 defendants participated in the program of which 50 have graduated, and the remainder continue to work towards completion. Defendants completed more than 2,000 hours in labor. Resulting in a total monetary savings of nearly $48,000. This figure is calculated using the average of the state minimum wage and an entry-level laborer for the City. The program continues to be a place of learning and growing, as well as a place where defendants are aided in finding counseling and other rehabilitation needs.

Work and Responsibilities

The program is operated as a workday. Rules and regulations are explained to each defendant prior to being accepted into the program. Each defendant is required to sign a contract stating that they agree to comply to the program’s rules and regulations. Defendant’s are assigned to many different tasks including, but not limited to:

• Pressure washing sidewalks and buildings
• Collecting trash from roadways and emptying trash bins throughout the downtown area
• Assisting with general maintenance of police department facilities
• Removing snow from the downtown area and public spaces
• Washing, disinfecting, and detailing vehicles for the police department and public works
• Assisting residents in need
• Painting and removal of graffiti
• Mowing and general landscaping of City property as well as abandoned or foreclosed properties
• Assisting with county recycling events.

The Crossing Guards work each school day to safely cross children at nine different locations. There are nine primary guards assigned to the ten positions and there are an additional three substitute guards who fill in as needed throughout the year. An additional seven crossing locations are staffed by Community Unit School District #303. The Special Services Unit works closely with the school district to train crossing guards and plan safe routes to school. The Crossing Guards also help with pedestrian crossing locations during special events. All Crossing Guards attend an annual training session and are outfitted with safety equipment provided by the Police Department.