Police Divisions

The Professional Standards Division facilitates the employee conduct/citizen complaint process, processes internal investigations, assists with writing new policies and policy revisions, maintains equipment inventory, and manages the Department’s Illinois Law Enforcement Accreditation Program (ILEAP) accreditation process.

CPD’s Police Service Representatives provide customer service for citizens, officers, and local justice agencies, including fielding approximately 62,000 phone calls and processing nearly 2,600 vehicle tows annually. Staff research and communicate various information for patrol officers, serving as a great support to the successful resolution of calls for service. They are also responsible for processing, reviewing, and disseminating information from police reports and other official CPD documents. Staff provides multiple services to the public, including fingerprinting, background checks, the processing of approximately 2,300 FOIA requests annually, and processing of over 1,000 weekly, quarterly and annual sex and violent crimes offender registrations.

Training and Recruitment ensures compliance with state and federal laws governing training and certification of officers and civilian employees, coordinating over 23,000 hours of training each year and ensuring that quality officers are ready to respond to the needs of the community.  Staff also oversee grants, officer background checks and recruiting.

Special Events and Liquor division reviews and processes special event applications to regulate and facilitate safety for community events.  In addition, staff supervises liquor investigations and special event activities to maintain consistency and help ensure safe, orderly community events.

Special Projects provides support to the Patrol Division with an emphasis on long-term projects that enhance and improve the daily operations of the police department, including management of the Department’s records management system, alarm permit ordinance, school crossing guards and animal control contracts.

The Patrol Division is the first responder to all calls for service, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. This includes preliminary investigations, accident investigations, order maintenance, traffic enforcement, and others; handling approximately 50,000 calls for service each year.

The division is staffed with 75 officers, 14 sergeants, 4 Lieutenants, and a K9 officer. Officers work 10-hour shifts with four days on and three days off.

Efforts in the Patrol Division are coordinated by four Lieutenants, with each one focusing their efforts on a specific area of Champaign. These District Commanders identify and address quality of life issues, field resident concerns, and direct on-duty officers in their public safety mission.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Use the map below to find your District Commander.

217-351-4545

North District Supervisor
Lieutenant Katherine Thompson
[email protected]

South District Supervisor
Lieutenant Ben Newell
[email protected]

Northwest District Supervisor
Lieutenant Sean Ater
[email protected]

Southwest District Commander
Lieutenant Kaitlin Fisher
[email protected]

 

The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) is comprised of officers highly trained in communication skills to provide support on service calls. The members of CIT are utilized to de-escalate often tense situations, such as hostage negotiations, suicidal subjects, and other crisis situations, with the goal to seek compliance and a peaceful resolution.

The Traffic Enforcement Unit was initiated to help track traffic concerns, that police and other City Departments may respond appropriately and identify support needs for recurring traffic issues. A single supervisor is responsible for coordinating all traffic enforcement efforts throughout the City and is responsible for:

• Collecting and recording neighborhood traffic concerns;
• Selecting, assigning, and recording enforcement locations and activities; and
• Providing timely feedback to those individuals who have brought traffic concerns to the attention of the police department.

Champaign Police School Resource Officers serve the Champaign Unit 4 School District, utilizing the “triad” concept that the officer fills three roles–that of a law-related counselor, law-related teacher, and law enforcement officer. The goal of the School Resource Officer (SRO) program is to provide safe learning environments, provide valuable resources to school staff, foster a positive relationship with students and develop strategies to resolve problems that affect our youth with the goal of protecting all children so they can reach their fullest potential. Read more on the School Resource Officer webpage.

The Criminal Investigations Division is responsible for the review of all police reports and investigation of crimes within the City of Champaign. The division is staffed with 17 Detectives, 3 Detective Sergeants, and 1 Lieutenant, who oversee approximately 1,500 investigations annually.

Property and Evidence oversee the intake and processing of approximately 18,000 recovered, lost, or stolen items submitted by officers as evidence. Staff coordinate with the State’s Attorney’s Office to provide evidence items needed for court cases, and safeguard citizens’ property until it can be returned.

The Street Crimes Task Force is a multi-jurisdictional unit staffed with officers from the Champaign Police Department, Champaign County Sheriff’s Office, Urbana Police Department, and the University of Illinois Police Department, to address and reduce gun violence in the Champaign-Urbana community.

Fiscal Administration coordinates the Police Department’s purchases to ensure the City’s Equal Opportunity in Purchasing Ordinance standards are met.  Staff provide budget analysis and execution to ensure appropriate funding for necessary contracts and equipment to assist in service delivery to the community.

The High Tech Crime Unit is a unit within the Criminal Investigations Division that is tasked with examining and analyzing electronic data—to include computers, cell phones, tablets, GPS units, gaming consoles, and other electronic devices relevant to criminal investigations. The unit is staffed by specially trained and certified forensic examiners who gather evidence from these devices to support the investigations conducted by CPD’s Patrol and Operational Support Divisions.

The Field Training Unit is comprised of officers within the Patrol Division who are tasked with training new officers to prepare them for solo patrol.  The Field Training Officers spend approximately 20 weeks with new officers in an effort to provide the skills and tools that will set the foundation for their career in Law Enforcement. The Champaign Police Department’s Field Training Unit is designed to ensure the success of each new Police Officer. The Field Training Unit is managed by a Lieutenant and a Sergeant and consists of twelve experienced Patrol Officers known as Field Training Officers (FTOs) and ten Field Training Sergeants (FTS).

The FTOs train new officers for solo patrol after they have graduated from the basic police academy or were hired through the Department’s experienced officer program. Field Training Sergeants oversee each new officer’s training progress weekly. All FTOs volunteer for the assignment and dedicate themselves to educating, training and evaluating new officers.

Each new officer is required to complete five training cycles known as Steps. Each Step is conducted by a different FTO and consists of a multitude of tasks to prepare the new officer for solo patrol on the street. During each Step, the new officer is evaluated daily on his or her performance. At the end of each Step, the officer is evaluated before moving to the next Step. At Step Five, the new officer begins solo patrol until the end of their 15-month probation period.

The Crime Scene Unit is staffed by patrol officers that have received specialized training in Crime Scene Investigations.  They are equipped with the latest tools and equipment that assist with recovering forensic evidence at crime scenes.

The Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) is a select group of officers that are trained to handle high-risk search warrants, armed and barricaded subjects, and hostage situations.  In addition, they may be called to handle any situation that would handle situations that would fall outside the capabilities of patrol.

CPD is staffed with a full-service K-9 that supports the Department with drug detection, article search tracking, building searches, and apprehension. “Drax” a German Shepherd, was introduced into the department in 2024 and is handled by Officer Tyler Bialeschki.

The Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit is a joint unit consisting of bomb technicians from the Champaign Police Department and the University of Illinois Police Department. The unit provides render safe response capabilities, post-blast investigation expertise, and other explosive related aid to the citizens of Champaign and surrounding communities, while ensuring the protection of lives and property and the prosecution of explosive or other hazardous device related crimes. The EOD Unit fulfills this mission by detecting, evaluating and rendering safe suspected improvised explosive devices, incendiary devices, explosives, explosive chemicals, pyrotechnics, and ammunition.