Crystal Lake parks police could be disbanded

The Crystal Lake Park District is considering disbanding its police department.

The park board is scheduled to continue discussing at its Thursday meeting the possibility of discontinuing the operation of its police department.

Reasons to disband the department include saving money and resources, since some park police responsibilities are duplications of municipal police duties, according to park documents.

“It’s a luxury,” board President Eric Anderson said.

Park board members began discussing the possible dissolution in the fall. No action will be taken at this month’s meeting about the park police department, but the board could vote on a possible action in January or at the latest February, Executive Director Jason Herbster said.

The budget for the park police department this year was $435,495, which included the $50,000 purchase of body cameras, Herbster said. Last year, the budget was $287,064.

Concerns from park district staff if the police were to disband include park safety, reactive policing rather than proactive and delayed responses. Other concerns include the discontinued services, like helping with lost children in parks, stopping vandalism with undercover surveillance and being on standby to assist city police.

Commissioner Cathy Cagle raised questions about what impact the dissolution would have on the park district’s budget if park police duties were reassigned to other areas.

Another unknown is how an end to the department would affect Lakewood and Crystal Lake police, Commissioner Michael Jacobson said. He suggested other possibilities like creating a hybrid agency with Crystal Lake police. Lakewood falls within Crystal Lake Park District boundaries, as does a portion of Lake in the Hills.

“The thought of dissolving it … once it’s done, we’re not going to go back and get it again,” Jacobson said.

The department serves 58,000 people in Crystal Lake and Lakewood with an acreage of 1,400 and is the only park police department in McHenry County, according to park district documents. The McHenry County Conservation District, however, also has a police department.

Started in 1924, the Crystal Lake Park District Police Department currently employs 11 people, Herbster said. There is one full-time chief and one full-time officer and the rest are part-time officers.

In its most recent report, the park police answered 36 calls in October that included car burglaries and a suspicious person report.

About 2.4% of the total park budget funds the police department, Commissioner Sarah Michehl said. After a calculation, she guessed that she pays about $12.43 per year in taxes for park district police services.

“It made me think, what am I paying for that, as a taxpayer?” she said. “It shocked me. That’s less than a quarter tank of gas.”

Anderson sees the dismantling of the police department as a way to save money and use taxpayer dollars for other purposes. In 20 years, he estimates the district would save about $7 million.

“We could build something today for $7 million,” he said. “Would that be a better use of funds from our taxpayers?”

The Crystal Lake Park District Police Department declined to comment.