Every morning and afternoon, the Hudson Police are out at Hudson Elementary School. Not because of crime, but to get to know the students.
“We get out of the car, we interact with the students and the staff, making sure everybody gets in safe, and [making] sure everybody leaves safe,” Hudson Police Chief Mark Kotte said.
Hudson, located just north of Bloomington-Normal, is home to about 1,700 people. It’s one of a few dozen smaller communities in McLean County with their own police force — albeit a small one with two full-time officers and one part-time.
There are not many violent crimes in Hudson, according to Kotte. The police play more of a peacekeeping role in the town.
“It's a different way of policing,” said Kotte. “The village or the city having the control of their own police department, I think, is critical for the service level that people expect.”
A different way of policing
Policing in a small town comes with its own set of challenges but plenty of benefits too — an important factor as police departments nationwide face recruiting challenges. Small-town departments can also entice former officers from bigger cities; Kotte, for example, is retired from the Normal Police Department.
One reality is that small-town departments are, well, small. That means fewer resources. Departments in larger cities have detectives, evidence technicians, records people, secretaries and all types of support staff. A small town like Hudson or Lexington doesn't.
“So what that really means – in a small town you do more. In a big city police department you have more people,” said Lexington Police Chief Tim Edmiaston.
Edmiaston is also a former police officer for the Town of Normal. Now he typically deals with retail theft and domestic conflicts in Lexington.
“The chief in a small town typically does everything, so it's a bigger workload,” said Edmiaston. “I'm busier here in Lexington than I was in Normal, not necessarily busier fighting crime, somewhat, we still have crime, but busier with more responsibilities.”
That means collaboration is extra important, and not just between police departments.
Edmiaston said they rely on social services in Bloomington and Normal.
“Maybe a month ago, we had an issue with a juvenile [so] I called Project Oz, they came and helped us. So when we need them, we call and they come,” Edmiaston said.
Recruiting officers
Overall trends in the country have shown fewer people willing to become a police officer, and the profession has faced public perception problems following high-profile killings of civilians. The stakes are high for small municipalities, because a difficult hiring cycle or a few unexpected resignations or retirements could effectively disband the department.
“I think a lot of the problems stem from some of the national news stories,” said Leland Grove Police Chief Dan Ryan, also 2nd vice president of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police. Leland Grove is a small municipality outside of Springfield.
“I mean, police cause their own problems sometimes too,” said Ryan. “Let's not sit here and say that there aren't issues in policing. But when the focus is only that, then the police or the community doesn't feel a lot of support and people aren't wanting to jump into the profession like they were before.”
The public’s view of the police could be what is driving officers to leave the profession, but it can also be what entices officers to join a small-town force.
“People will call up and they'll say, ‘Hi, Officer Ryan,’” Ryan said. “They build that rapport with their community and the police department.”
In Leland Grove, if no one is in the police office then phone calls will be transferred to squad cars. “So you'll always get to talk to an on-duty officer,” said Ryan, “and that's the other [thing], you're talking to an officer from your police department. You're not talking to a dispatcher who doesn't know you.”
Not every town has that luxury. In fact, about one-third of the villages, towns and cities in McLean County do not have a local police department, according to a WGLT search. This does not include unincorporated areas, none of which have their own police departments.
These communities and unincorporated areas contract with the McLean County sheriff for patrols and other law enforcement services. The villages of Arrowsmith and Bellflower also contract to the Downs police department.
Contracting work out to the sheriff could save smaller municipalities money. Instead of paying for squad cars, insurance, uniforms and everything it takes to run a police department, the town would only be paying a sheriff’s deputy an hourly rate and specific service fees.
Chief Kotte from Hudson said if municipalities are contracting out to the sheriff, they might not get the level of service small communities expect.
The sheriff
The McLean County sheriff wears many hats. On top of enforcing the law and keeping the peace, the sheriff also manages the jail.
“There's a huge responsibility when it comes to the detention center and the jail that I think goes unnoticed. It is quite the undertaking to run that facility. It takes at least half of my time dealing with jail issues that come up,” said McLean County Sheriff Matt Lane.
Lane said there have only been a few times where a large incident is happening in the jail and in a small town at the same time.
“If I have a large incident happen at my jail, I am confident that the other agencies in this county would help me if I needed someone to go to Carlock to handle a problem. The way that works is, the primary jurisdiction will end up dealing with the issue, but they might not be the first one there,” said Lane.
The McLean County sheriff and surrounding police forces have a great relationship, according to Lane and local police chiefs.
Kotte said the sheriff's office does a “great job with helping out small communities in McLean County.”
“I think I can speak for almost every small town police chief in McLean County,” said Kotte. “[The sheriff] really goes out of their way to assist us with whatever we need. There are times, of course, they have to back us up, and sometimes we might not be available for a call, so they will actually handle the call and take the report for us, and then we might do the follow up investigation.”
Different jobs
“They’re different jobs,” said Lane regarding the difference of policing in a small town versus a big city. “[But they] usually get the same outcome.”
“As long as we get the job done, then that's what matters,” said Lane. “There have been a few hiccups. There's going to be, people are human beings. I'm a human being. I might make a mistake here and there. Everybody does, and we just work it out.”
