Are Elmhurst Police Shorthanded These Days?

ELMHURST, IL – The Elmhurst Police Department's staffing situation is better than it was last year, the chief said this week.

The department reached a low point in 2022 when it had nine vacancies among its 68 sworn officer positions, Police Chief Michael McLean told the City Council.

Now, the department has just three vacancies, he said.

With greater staffing, the department can bring back its "dormant" units, the chief said. For instance, the police can staff its traffic unit for the first time since early 2020.

The department is also catching up on replacing squad cars, McLean said during a budget presentation.

In 2020, the department bought no new cars because of the uncertain economy related to the pandemic, he said. A year later, the department purchased three cars, half of its usual order.

In 2022, the police tried to make up for the previous years with a larger order of squad cars, McLean said. But because of supply chain issues, the manufacturer canceled the order.

"Finally, here in 2023, I'm happy to report that we're receiving marked police cars," McLean said. "We are still making up for the disruption of the past years. Like many capital items, if you put it off, it doesn't go away."

The department also needs to buy new cars for detectives because the current ones have high mileage, the chief said.