By Howard Packowitz and Kayla Johnson
PEORIA, Ill. (25 News) – Peoria Police will soon have an increased presence downtown with the addition of six unarmed community service officers.
The city council Tuesday night unanimously approved new Police Chief Brad Dixon’s first big ask of elected officials, while at the same time, Dixon won praise for proposing the idea.
Hiring the civilian officers will cost taxpayers an estimated $508,000 a year, but City Manager Patrick Urich said having them on the force will be half the cost as staffing sworn officers.
Dixon said they will wear uniforms very different from police, so there is no confusion. They will have radios to communicate with police, attend roll calls, and carry a flashlight. The chief said he likes the idea of having them wear body cameras. However, only sworn officers are required by law to wear body cams.
“They definitely will not have a firearm”, said Dixon. They are working hand and hand with them, and some people just prefer to be community service officers.”
Third district council member Timothy Riggenbach likes Dixon’s “out of the box” thinking on the issue, and Riggenbach noted he’s received “only positive” feedback from the public.
Riggenbach said to Dixon, “Thank you for this creative approach.”
Mayor Rita Ali said she wished the city could hire 10 community officers instead of six, “but six is a great start.”
“Perhaps these are people who will serve as community service officers and may have an interest at some point to become police officers,” Ali said.
City Manager Urich said the Greater Peoria Leadership Council is contributing $72,000 to help pay for training and equipment for the new officers.
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