Programs and Services

Police Programs

Child Seat Loaner Program
We have 10 child seats for children up to 80 lbs. in weight. They are available by calling to reserve them, on a first come first served basis. During the holiday seasons it is best to call at least a month in advance, as there are none available by the time the holidays arrive.

High School Police Officer Liaison
Through an agreement with Stevenson High School, the Police Department provides a Police Officer to the school on a "full-time" basis. The Liaison Officer works as a resource liaison between the school, the parents, other police departments and the students themselves. Everyday the Liaison Officer is asked a question or assists a student with information that may not be readily available from the school themselves. The officer also provides security for the school. The majority of the time the officer is in uniform and armed. This provides comfort to the student body, the school employees and the parents of the children attending Stevenson High School. The program was initiated in 1995 and is highly regarded by all. For more information on the program, please contact the Chief of Police.

House Watch Program
The Police Officers and Community Service Officers check vacant houses while our residents are out-of-town on vacation. We will ask a few pertinent questions. It is helpful if the necessary information is readily available when a resident calls. We need to know the following:

• The name, address and phone number of the person at the residence which is to be watched.
• The departure and return dates.
• Whether the home is protected by an alarm system.
• Whether there will be any lights left either on timers or on constantly. Whatever appears like the resident is still there is the best lighting scenario.
• If there will be any cars left in the driveway the entire time of the watch, we need to know the color, year, make, model and license plate number of each vehicle.
• If there will be anyone with keys for the home who will be available should there be an emergency. We need their name, address and home and work phone numbers.
• If there will be anyone around the house in the absence of the homeowner, we would like to know the name of each person and a description of any vehicle they may be driving. For the vehicle description, we would like the color, year, make, model and license plate number. This includes cleaning people, workmen, landscapers, plowing service, pet sitters and keyholders.
• Last, but probably the most important, we would like a phone number where the homeowner can be reached in case of an emergency. If the homeowner is going to be unreachable, then please have someone we can call on a 24-hour-a-day basis who can come to the home and make decisions for the homeowner should there be an emergency.

Police Bicycle Patrol Program
In an effort to keep the Police Department in touch with the residents and business/corporate community within the Village and to assist with patrol operations, the Police Department operates the Police Bicycle Patrol Program. Children love a cop on a bike and have no hesitations in talking with him or her, yet they are somewhat reluctant when the officer is in a police car. In fact, a Police Officer on a bike is on a much more personal and approachable level with everyone they come in contact with, whether it be a resident, an employee working in Lincolnshire or someone just passing through. There is no question that the police car itself is very intimidating.

Appealing to the concept of a "community partnership", the Police Department began accepting donations from businesses, corporations and civic organizations within the Village. When the bicycle officer is seen riding through the Village's residential streets or the streets, paths and parking lots of the business and corporate areas, it will give everyone a greater feeling of safety and a sense of pride in a program they helped to establish. The bicycle allows us this additional mobility for patrolling corporate parking lots, Village parks and other areas sometimes inaccessible by a police car.

Many of you see one of our three Bike Officers at events such as the 4th of July race, parade and the Spring Lake Park festivities, special community events, during Trick or Treating, and other such times when an Officer can more efficiently move about the Village and increase our community policing efforts. The three officers have been trained and equipped to utilize the bike for patrols, bicycle safety programs, and other situations where the additional mobility of a bike is helpful.

Special Operations Unit
The special operations unit of the Police Department participates in a wide range of activities, some of which include crime prevention, drug/gang resistance education and traffic safety enforcement and education. This part-time unit provides residents, students and local business representatives with information that offers them reduced victimization opportunities and accurate information on area crime trends and traffic safety issues. By offering this two prong approach, the Police Department's objectives are to broaden the prevention partnership with the community as well as to reduce community members fear of crime.

Successful programs that continue this prevention process include D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) visitation and core curriculum instruction, residential and business security surveys, occupant restraint initiatives that in part include the child safety seat loaner and installation inspection programs, high school student pre-drivers and drivers education presentations, alcohol providers accountability training and the Lincolnshire Police Explorer Post.

Specially trained Police Department personnel that participate in providing these auxiliary services include Patrol Officers, Community Service Officers, Telecommunicators, law enforcement Explorers and the Records Clerk. Their combined knowledge and commitment to public information and education is a integral component of the community policing philosophy of the Police Department.

Youth Peer Jury Program
A "Peer Jury" program was developed and implemented by the Police Department during 1998. The Peer Jury program is designed to be an alternative to court for first-time juvenile offenders under the age of 17 who commit violations such as minor vandalism, curfew, tobacco-related violations, and other non-serious infractions. The youths that participate in the program must first admit their guilt and then present themselves before a pre-selected jury of their peers for a hearing and sentencing. The jurors hear the officer’s testimony, the offender’s testimony, and oftentimes ask questions of the parents. The sentence may range from being required to write a paper to performing hours of community service. Restitution is usually required in vandalism cases. The objective of the program is to help the teen offender and his/her family deal with a problem situation in a constructive manner.

The program is based on the premise that young people are less likely to recommit crimes if they are dealt with in a judicial process which involves positive peer pressure. By allowing the youth to work in the community as a constructive punishment for their actions, he or she develops a more positive understanding of their role within the community. The program has proven to be very successful to this point. A case is only sent to the Peer Jury for hearing by a juvenile jury (jurors are required to be between thirteen and seventeen years old) and an adult moderator when:

• The teen admits having committed the offense and accepts responsibility for his/her actions;

• A Lincolnshire Police Department Juvenile Officer determines that the case meets certain stringent requirements and a disposition in the Peer Jury Program is appropriate;

• and the teen and his/her parent or guardian consent in writing allowing the matter to be heard by the Peer Jury.

Police Services

Emergency Warning Siren System, Activation and Testing
The Village of Lincolnshire maintains an Emergency Warning Siren System consisting of sirens installed in strategic areas throughout the Village to provide optimal coverage for the residents and businesses within the Village. The five Tornado Warning Sirens are at the following sites:

• The Public Works facility on Schelter Road
• Half Day School
• The Village property at 45 Londonderry Lane
• Daniel Wright School
• The Village's reservoir located on Westminster Way

In the event a tornado is sighted and is in threatening proximity to the Village of Lincolnshire, a three (3) minute STEADY siren tone will be activated. Upon activation residents should:

• Seek immediate shelter inside your residence or a sturdy building. Stay on as low a level as possible towards the center of the building away from windows and doors. Under a staircase or inside an interior bathroom are a couple of suggested locations. A blanket or bedspread is helpful to wrap yourself in to avoid cuts from flying debris.

• If you have a cordless phone or cell phone handy, take it with you. Do not waste time looking for the phone if not available. PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR A WEATHER UPDATE. CALL FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY.

• Continue to monitor the weather for an all-clear. Within 20 to 30 minutes after the siren activation, carefully monitor the weather for updates. While the immediate threat may have passed, additional threats may be forthcoming. The weather can usually be monitored on the following radio and TV stations:

  • Channel 2 TV (WBBM Chicago)
  • Channel 5 TV (WMAQ Chicago)
  • Channel 7 TV (WLS Chicago)
  • Channel 9 TV (WGN Chicago)
  • The Weather Channel
  • WKRS Radio (1220 AM)
  • WXLC Radio (102.3 FM)

Another option would be to purchase a NOAH Severe Weather Emergency Alert Radio which can be purchased at most electronics stores.

Please Remember: The Siren System will be tested monthly per FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) guidelines and in conjunction with the Emergency Broadcast System at 10:00am on the first Tuesday of every month.

Siren "Test": Steady Tone for One (1) Minute
Tornado Sighting: Steady Tone for Three (3) Minutes

Illinois Firearms Owner's Identification Card Applications
These forms are available here, but must be completed and returned to the State of Illinois. No one can possess or purchase a firearm or ammunition without having a valid card.

Temporary Handicapped Parking Permits
Temporary handicapped parking permits are issued to residents of Lincolnshire, guests of residents (provided that the disability occurred while in Illinois) and to out-of-state people who are conducting business in Lincolnshire (provided that the disability occurred while in Illinois). There is a form available at the Police Department Records window. This form must be signed by the disabled person's doctor and returned to Records for issuance of the placard. By State law, the duration of the disability cannot exceed 90 days. If the disability is longer than 90 days, there are State handicapped placard applications available from our Records Department. These forms must be returned to any Secretary of State facility. The State temporary placards cannot exceed 6 months. Any disability with a duration exceeding 6 months requires that the State form must be mailed to the address on the form for the Secretary of State in Springfield.

State law defines a person with disabilities as a natural person who, as determined by a licensed physician:

1. Cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest;
2. Cannot walk without the use of, or assistance from, a brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or other assistive device;
3. Is restricted by lung disease to such an extent that his or her forced (respiratory) expiratory volume for one second, when measured by spirometry, is less than one liter, or the arterial oxygen tension is less than 60 mm/hg on room air at rest;
4. Uses portable oxygen;
5. Has a cardiac condition to the extent that the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV, according to the standards set by the American Heart Association; or
6. Is severely limited in the person's ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological or orthopedic condition.

Truck Overweight Permits
Our residential streets have a 6 ton per axle weight limit, with the exception of Londonderry Lane, which is 4 tons total weight. Anytime someone needs construction or landscape materials delivered, such as paver bricks, topsoil, gravel or concrete, a permit will need to be obtained for trucks to exceed the weight limits for our residential streets. There are ten streets that cannot have permits: Riverwoods (south of Route 22), Brittany, Fox Trail, Deer Run, Fairfax, Pheasant Row, Exmoor, Westwood, Middlebury and Bedford. These permits can be obtained by either the homeowner or the contractor. The original approved permit must be available at the job site before the trucks are allowed to deliver the material and should be obtained at least 24 hours in advance of the delivery. When one is applying for the permit, they will need the following information:

• The name, address and phone number of the trucking firm.
• The vehicle's registration weight classification. This is denoted by the last letter of the Illinois truck license plate.
• The Building or Public Works permit number.
• A description of the load that is being moved.
• The number of the axles on the vehicle doing the delivery.
• The gross weight the vehicle will weigh when totally loaded.
• The location from which the vehicle is originating and the address, within Lincolnshire, of its destination.