Crime & Safety

Chief Church to Receive 'Award of Excellence in Police Administration'

The Western Springs police chief will add another honor to her list as the Illinois State Crime Commission bestows one of the organization's top awards.

Western Springs Chief of Police Pam Church is slated to receive the Illinois State Crime Commission’s “2012 Award of Excellence in Police Administration,” a statewide award for police chiefs and one of the organization’s top honors.

Church was nominated by South Suburban Chiefs of Police president Bill Joyce. She will be presented with the award by the ISCC’s executive director, Jerry Elsner, on June 20 at a banquet in Oakbrook Terrace.

Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel, the current president of the West Suburban Chiefs of Police Association, praised the “geographical policing strategy” for accountability and credited Church’s leadership with reducing crime rates both in Western Springs and in the southwest suburbs

Find out what's happening in Western Springswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“Chief Church has a dedication to the understanding of the policing profession that epitomizes what the Award of Excellence in Police Administration represents,” Weitzel said in a press release. “Pam's professionalism and resolve in serving the village of Western Springs has helped them tackle some of the toughest policing issues of our day.”

Church, currently the Immediate Past President of the WSCPA, said she was “very humbled, and surprised, by the recognition I’ve been receiving.”

Find out what's happening in Western Springswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“We’re very proactive and I think we’re very in-touch with the community as far as crime trends and the needs and services that we provide and what we need to do to ensure that we provide the highest-quality services for Western Springs that our services respect,” Church said of the WSPD.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Western Springs