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Our sixth Chief was Donald Cundiff, who came to
Hoffman Estates from previous Departments including
Rolling Meadows and West Covina, CA. Chief Cundiff
retired from law enforcement in 1997. Clinton J.
Herdegen was appointed as Acting Chief, until he was
permanently promoted to that position in 1998. Chief
Herdegen represents the first chief to be promoted by
rising through the ranks of our own department.
The first set of uniforms worn by the Hoffman Estates
Police Department consisted of charcoal gray, thigh
length coats, navy blue trousers, black shoes, and
charcoal gray-trooper style hats. Each officer also
wore a weapons rig that included not only the waist
belt but a Sam Brown style, shoulder strap. The squad
cars were dark blue with one singular, bubble-style,
revolving, red light on the roof.
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The very first Hoffman Estates
Police Station was located near the intersection
of Illinois Blvd. and Evanston Street where the
Children’s Advocacy Center building is now
located. There only existed one set of bars on the
one rear window of the building and was in that
room that the police officers arranged a makeshift
jail cell. In those days, there existed room for
only one prisoner, eventually 2 cells were
installed. |
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There were no portable or squad car
radios in order to transmit calls. Information from
the station to the officers out on patrol had to be
relayed in a “strange” manner.
In order to know if they were needed
somewhere, the officers continually passed by the
station and looked to see if the window at the front
of the building had it’s shade pulled down or if the
shade was still up. If it was down, this was the
message to the officers on the street that a police
call had come in and the officer noticing the downed
shade should pull into the lot and go inside of the
station to determine what type of assistance was
needed. Car radios were installed in 1967.
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The Police Department moved its
station to 1200 Gannon Drive in 1972 in what
exists today as a modern style facility.
It was the 1st municipal building in the United States to be construction under the guidelines for handicapped accessiblity.
The
original one room cell has been replaced by two
female cells, four male cells and two juvenile
detention rooms. Officers can also communicate by
portable radio, squad car radio, state police
radio, or by laptop computer terminals installed
in the squads. |
The uniform design for the Hoffman
Estates Police officers changed in the 1960s to a
light blue uniform shirt, French blue trousers with a
dark blue stripe down each leg, black shoes, and a
navy blue, five point hat. The coats worn at that time
were copies of the Chicago Police Department leather
coats, navy blue in color. We still use that style of
coat today. A shoulder strap is no longer worn with
the weapons rig.
This uniform style remained until the 1980s at which
time the French blue trousers were replaced with navy
blue trousers containing no stripe. In July of 1999 at
which time the light blue shirt was replaced with a
navy blue shirt. Officers were permitted to wear
either a dress, navy blue tie, or a mock, navy blue,
turtle neck shirt under their long sleeve, uniform
shirt. The short sleeve shirt required no tie or mock
turtle neck.
The department squad car has changed colors and
designs several times over the years. We’ve gone from
navy blue in color to light blue, dark green, two-tone
light green and white, navy blue again, all white, and
finally to our current design of black and white. We
have used Fords, Pontiacs, Chevys, Dodges and Jeeps.
Presently we have Chevy Tahoe and Ford Crown Victoria
models in the fleet. We also have long since gone to a
one piece, Mars brand, emergency lighting system on
top of the cars.
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1985
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1990
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1993
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2003
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2003
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2003
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We presently have a force of 97
sworn officers. Our squad car fleet contains 30
vehicles and our department consists of several
specialized Divisions and Sections such as Patrol,
Investigations, Juvenile Investigations, Traffic,
Tactical, Community Relations, Problem Oriented
Policing, and School Resource Officers. Personnel
are assigned to work one of the three, eight-hour
shifts each day.
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Officers work 20 days out of every 28 day cycle
and can retire after 20 years, but can not draw a
pension until age 50.
The Hoffman Estates Police Department has been
internationally recognized for excellence in
traffic safety...for its speed, DUI, and occupant
restraint enforcement and educational programs, to
name a few. The Department has received
recognition in the International Association of
Chiefs of Police "Chief’s Challenge" Award program
ten years in a row over competition that included
such notable police organizations as LAPD, NYPD
and the California Highway Patrol. The history of
HEPD continues to develop on a daily basis.
Police Employment
Take a virtual tour of our Police Department
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