The Department of Public Safety seeks to promote safety through citizen outreach. Here residents will find information and resources that encourage them to take an active role in protecting themselves and their neighbors' property.

The Department of Public Safety is located in City Hall on Oak Park Boulevard. There are 66 full-time officers, who are cross-trained as both police officers and fire fighters. Duties of each discipline are performed by all officers. The Department has 11 police-marked patrol units, and four fire trucks. The Emergency Services Council, a nine-person committee made up of four citizens, a City Council Representative, the Director of Public Information, Director of Public Safety, Director of Public Works, and the Emergency Services Coordinator, meet once a month to discuss policy and formulate recommendations regarding emergency services that are passed on to the City Council.

The Public Safety Department responds to more than 19,000 calls each year, including police, fire and emergency medical.

The City participates in both police and fire mutual aid, which provides additional assistance to/from surrounding communities in the event of a major emergency or a shortage of equipment or personnel.

Information

The Department of Public Safety seeks to promote safety through citizen outreach. Here residents will find information and resources that encourage them to take an active role in protecting themselves and their neighbors' property.

The Department of Public Safety operates a variety of citizen outreach programs. The Neighborhood Awareness Programs, for instance, encourage residents to take an active role in protecting themselves and their neighbors' property. The Department promotes fire safety in October – Fire Safety Month – by visiting the elementary and middle schools and provides other school programs throughout the year. Information and public presentations are given on a variety of subjects to the public on request.

Mission

The Oak Park Department of Public Safety was created to serve the community.

Our mission is to improve the quality of life in Oak Park by working together with all citizens to protect life and property, to promote safety, to maintain public order, and to preserve human rights.

Values Statement

Service, Protection and Prevention

• Service is the foundation of our value system and the reason for the Oak Park Department of Public Safety to exist.
• We believe in the Rule of Law and in a single standard of justice that applies equally to all people.
• We encourage voluntary compliance, education, and prevention but we are tenacious in upholding the law, maintaining order and defending the rights of all people.
• We are flexible and innovative in finding solutions to unique community problems.
• We evaluate, listen, and seek new and better ways to serve our community.

Responsibility and Respect

• We recognize that maintaining order and the public's safety is a shared responsibility between the Department of Public Safety, the Community, every level of government and every person.
• We communicate in an open and responsive manner with the community and each other.
• We exercise authority and use only the force necessary to protect life, property and to defend the rights of all people.
• We accept responsibility for our personal and professional acts as an agency and as individuals.
• We respect and honor the inherent dignity of all people and ourselves.
• We respect and honor diversity and serve all people with equal dedication and fairness.

Integrity and Ideals

• We believe that the unique service that we provide requires the highest level of public trust.
• We believe that adherence to high ideals in our personal and professional conduct will inspire and sustain the community's confidence in us.
• We require the highest degree of personal integrity and professionalism from ourselves and each other. We will not tolerate those who violate the public trust.
• We seek to do the right thing, the right way.

Quality

• We aspire to provide the highest quality of service that embraces excellence with courage, competence, compassion, conscience and consistency.
• We believe that how the job gets done is as important as getting the job done and that process is as important as the product.
• We embrace change and strive for continuous improvement.
• We are dedicated to the relentless performance of our duties in the pursuit of an improved quality of life for all people.