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Police chief presents 2025 annual report: staffing steady, calls and records workload rising
Summary
Pingree Grove's police chief reported 18 sworn officers (one vacancy), about 5,150 dispatch calls in 2025 (a 45% rise over five years), increased crash counts and a surge in FOIA/records requests, and highlighted new tools such as ALPRs and electronic ticketing.
Chief Chris delivered the Pingree Grove Police Department's 2025 annual report at the March 16 meeting, updating trustees on staffing, call volume, crash statistics and the growing records workload.
The chief said the department has 18 sworn and three non-sworn staff at present (the authorized strength is 19 sworn). "At this time we have 18 sworn officers, three nonsworn officers," he said. The department hired multiple officers in 2025 and promoted one sergeant but lost a trainee who did not complete the program.
The department recorded roughly 5,150 dispatch calls in 2025, a 45% increase over five years, the chief said, and attributed some increases in arrests to greater on-street staffing rather than a clear rise in crime. Crash reports have increased as the village grows, particularly on high-speed state routes, the chief said; most crashes were property-damage only. The chief also noted a large FOIA and records workload: 171 Freedom of Information Act requests in 2025 and time-consuming redaction work — one recent request took over 18 hours to process.
The report also outlined several operational upgrades: automated license-plate readers (ALPRs) were activated and have been used successfully in investigations, the department implemented electronic ticketing, and supervisors completed leadership training. The chief said the full report will be posted on the village website within the week.
Sources: Chief Chris, 2025 Police Department annual report presentation to the board on March 16, 2026.
