By Gregory Harutunian ~ Correspondent
More than a month has passed since the Village of Spring Grove approved a mutual aid initiative with the Johnsburg police department as a cooperative effort along its adjacent municipal borders, providing extra manpower and access to specialized equipment from both law enforcement agencies.
The Village of Johnsburg formally ratified the intergovernmental agreement at its July 12 regular meeting, and both law enforcement agencies are on track to benefit with several joint programs, in addition to enhancing emergency response service to their respective communities.
“This is an instance of two law enforcement agencies, cooperating and working together as one, moving towards a common goal of efficient public safety,’ said Keith Von Allmen, Johnsburg’s police chief.
“It’s a natural progression, as mutual aid agreements have been in place between local fire departments for decades, and have been a backbone and model for interagency efforts.”
Von Allmen approached the Johnsburg board members at its June 12 session, and delivered an analysis and recommendation to approve the pact. The benefits of joint cooperation is a precursor to other opportunities in specific areas, he had said, such as a street crimes unit, a patrol division, and detective division.
“The main thing is that this is not the creation of a new agency, but rather utilizing the best aspects that each department has to offer, during an emergency and request for additional response and assistance,” said Von Allmen.
The Village of Spring Grove enacted the constructs of the pact at its June 5 work session. “The full board did approve the intergovernmental agreement, and the items, or terms, are under the purview of the police departments,” said Spring Grove Village Clerk Sandi Rusher.
Von Allmen added, “The authority to make the agreement comes from the Illinois Constitution of 1979, based on adjoining boundaries and that the document’s framers understood the importance of intergovernmental cooperation. We signed a similar mutual aid pact with the McHenry police department last year.
“As a result, we have a street crimes unit that is activated one week per month, and responsible for narcotic arrests, currency and vehicle seizures, along with the removal of illegal narcotics from our streets,” he said. “We haven’t established such a unit with Spring Grove as yet, it opens the door to move investigations out of our own community.”
The pact itself outlines situations where assistance is requested to the other agency, and its authorizing designee can quickly determine whether law enforcement equipment and/or personnel can be afforded for response, and if they are available for dispatch to the scene.
Although assistance is not mandatory, it forwards a “systematic” response to those requests by either village. Additional planning, training, and preparation is also a criteria for individual officer safety practices to ensure effective back-up assistance when needed in an emergency situation.
“We’re very excited about the prospects; and what the future holds for both departments working together in these circumstances,” said Von Allmen. “A potential patrol division puts a back-up unit minutes away, and those extra minutes can have a grave impact on an officer’s safety.”
Both Johnsburg and Spring Grove can terminate the agreement by mutual consent, or one village notifying the other in a written notice, 60 days prior to the cancellation date.