Kankakee police report 65 staff on roster, spike in overtime and recovered firearms in May

Kankakee City police Chief Kidwell told the city’s public safety meeting on June 3 that the department’s active roster currently totals 65 officers and staff and asked residents to encourage applicants for upcoming tests for the police academy.

Kidwell said, “We have 38 currently in patrol, 8 in investigations, 2 in K Meg, 1 school resource officer, 4 in administration, 3 in the pop unit. Currently, I have 2 in the academy, 3 in field training, 1 in nuisance abatement, 2 on light duty, and 1 on FMLA. So that adds up to 65.”

The report outlined personnel, overtime, bills and monthly activity for May and why they matter to the city. Chief Kidwell said the department’s hiring list is expired and that testing will be held on June 21; he named two academy recruits, Wade Long and Benjamin Matthews, who are expected to graduate in August. He said three slots are reserved for the December academy.

On overtime and budgets, Kidwell said overtime costs were substantially higher in May, driven largely by training; about 10.5% of the increased amount was reimbursed through grants such as traffic and training grants. He reported specific bills in May, including a Kancom service charge covered two-thirds by the police portion ($62,934.63) with the fire department covering one third, ballistic vest purchases partially reimbursed by the Patrick Leahy bulletproof vest grant, and deployment of Verkada cameras funded through ARPA. Kidwell said the department’s bills for the month totaled $284,500.40; Alderman Navarro moved to approve that amount and Alderman Jones seconded; the roll call vote recorded ayes from council members and the motion carried.

Kidwell gave crime and enforcement figures for May: nine firearms recovered by the department (three recovered by K Meg), 87 traffic crashes, 114 adult arrests, 667 total citations, 13 DUIs for May (he said DUI enforcement continues to trend upward), and 240 domestic-related calls (160 listed as domestic disputes, 26 as domestic battery). He also described 11 shots-fired calls and 14 weapons calls in May and highlighted two death investigations (one fatal self-inflicted gunshot and one fatal drug overdose) and two nonfatal drug overdoses.

Council members raised neighborhood concerns that the department will follow up on, including reported problems at specific addresses and parks. Aldermen discussed extra patrols and classification of foot patrols versus business checks; Kidwell said the department recorded about 2,065 business checks and roughly 897–897 extra patrols with 49 events classified as foot patrols and that he wants the foot-patrol number to increase.

What was decided: the council approved the police department bills in the amount Kidwell requested. Several neighborhood enforcement and patrol requests were entered as operational directions to staff rather than formal motions.

Looking ahead, Kidwell reminded residents that the lateral entry program is currently closed and encouraged applicants to apply online for academy testing. He also noted two recruits in the academy and three reserved spots for December.