DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick paid a visit to Aurora Aug. 8.
Mendrick cited his department’s challenges and achievements in remarks to the Citizen Police Academy Alumni of Aurora’s monthly meeting at Aurora Police Department headquarters.
“We’re hurting. We can’t hire fast enough,” Mendrick said of efforts to hire and retain deputies. According to the sheriff, his department is among others competing for law enforcement personnel due to retirements, job stress and a shortage of recruits.
A 26-year veteran of the Wheaton-based department, Mendrick is in his second term as elected sheriff. Reducing crime in DuPage by proactive policing and community involvement is his priority, he said.
According to Mendrick, since his initial election in 2018 the county correctional facility has been transformed from a former punitive model to a rehabilitative model. Vocational training programs, he said, help prepare inmates for employment on release and save money in contractual and actual services.
He claimed drug recidivism rates have fallen into the teens through programs including GED training, drug detoxification and recovery, medicated assistance treatment, gang tattoo removal and job training in welding, tiling, sanitation services and outdoor/indoor horticulture.
Under his leadership in 2019, 36 neighboring police agencies were united under the Metropolitan Emergency Response and Investigation Team. Benefits are unprecedented sharing of resources and personnel.
Additionally, the department partners with Northern Illinois Food Bank, Meals on Wheels and DuPage Senior council to distribute thousands of meals annually.
He invited community members with questions or concerns to call him at (630) 407-2000 or by e-mail at sheriff@dupagesheriff.org.
—Al Benson