The Citizen Police Academy is a free 9-week program that is offered once a year at the beginning of September.  It provides residents and owners or employees of a Bartlett business with a better working knowledge of their police department. Participants can anticipate a fun, challenging and educational experience designated to foster and enhance positive relationships with the members of the Bartlett Police Department.  

The Bartlett Police Department offers a free program that teaches Bartlett residents how to properly install child safety seats in their vehicles. This program entails a community service officer (CSO) demonstrating the proper way to install a child safety seat in the participant’s vehicle. After the CSO demonstration, the seat is removed and the participant reinstalls it in their vehicle. Therefore, all participants should dress appropriately, keeping the weather conditions in mind.

The police department has four CSOs who are certified child safety seat installers. Bartlett residents who wish to participate in this program are asked to call 630-837-0846 to schedule an appointment. Normally, child safety seat installations are scheduled between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. The appointment time for one child safety seat is approximately one hour. Participation in this program is limited to Bartlett residents only.  

Child passenger safety tips and information pertaining to child safety seats can also be found in the police department's child safety seat brochure.

There are several neighborhood watch groups in Bartlett. New groups are always welcome.

Interested in starting a Neighborhood Watch? The benefits of such a group include:
• Partnerships with law enforcement and your neighbors
• Reduction in crime
• A more secure and better prepared hometown 
• A more united community 
• Improved communications

Starting a Neighborhood Watch group is easier than you think! Check out the five steps below and contact Bartlett Police Department Crime Prevention Unit with any questions 630-837-0846. 

1. Recruit and Organize as many neighbors as possible
It is wonderful that you are taking the steps to start a Neighborhood Watch group in your neighborhood. The first step is talking to your fellow neighbors about starting a group.

2. Contact your local law enforcement agency and schedule a meeting
The next step is contacting your local law enforcement agency. Invite them to meet with your group at a time and place convenient for your Watch Group. It is essential for your group to work in collaboration with law enforcement because Neighborhood Watch is a cooperative effort.

3. Discuss community concerns and develop an action plan
If law enforcement is unavailable to come to the first meeting, you might want to have a meeting to discuss the concerns and issues in the neighborhood. Your group should create a plan on how to work towards lessening the impact of the top three concerns of neighbors. 

4. Create a communication plan
It is important to decide what type of communication will work for your Watch Group - meetings or social media or both.

5. Take Action: Hold Meetings and Events
Neighborhood Watch Toolkit has a number of wonderful training topics and meeting ideas that can be useful to your group.

Do you regularly walk your dog? If the answer is yes, then Bartlett’s new Dog Walker Watch, “Paws on Patrol,” wants you! Be a part of the Dog Walker Watch crime awareness program that enlists dog owners to serve as extra eyes and ears for law enforcement.

The Dog Walker Watch crime awareness program is designed for neighbors who are familiar with their community and out in the neighborhood on a regular basis anyway, whether walking with or without a dog. Unlike a community watch program, Dog Walker Watch requires no time commitment beyond an individual’s regular routine 

This programs trains you to effectively observe and report criminal activity as you are routinely out in your neighborhood. Those who know the neighborhood best (you) now become more aware and less hesitant to report suspicious activity.

To learn more about the Dog Walker Watch program and to sign up, call the Bartlett Police Department Crime Prevention Unit, 630-837-0846, or contact Officer Anderson at vanderson@vbartlett.org or Officer Dendinger at tdendinger@vbartlett.org.

Solicitors may not approach a Bartlett residence displaying a "NO SOLICITORS" decal. These decals are available at the main office in village hall. Residents are encouraged to report violations to the police department by calling 9-1-1.

The Bartlett Police Department now offers residents the convenient option to request overnight parking and vacation watches online at www.frontlinepss.com/bartlett. Simply click the submit button and enter your information into Frontline Public Safety Solutions. Residents may still request overnight parking and vacation watches by calling the police non-emergency number, 630-837-0846, or complete the Vacation Watch Application form and return it to the police department records section.

Please be aware that the police department vacation watch house checks are considered only when the home is vacant for a minimum of three days, and a maximum of two weeks per watch. If someone is staying at the premises in the homeowner’s absence, a vacation watch will not be granted. In addition, apartment buildings, condominiums, and houses that are for sale are not eligible for the vacation watch program.

A homeowner can request a maximum of one month total of vacation watches per calendar year at a residence. Vacation watch requests that exceed more than one month total during a calendar year will be denied.

Submitting this request does not remove your responsibility as a homeowner from making every attempt to protect your property while you are away (securing doors/windows, lights on timers, stopping mail/newspaper service, etc.). Also, keep in mind that the Bartlett Police Department will make every effort to check your property, but only as priority calls or call volume allows.

Bartlett Police Department now has an “internet purchase exchange zone." Look for the "internet purchase exchange location" sign in the main parking lot of the police department. This "zone" is monitored by video surveillance 24/7.

Residents are encouraged to conduct their transactions here or inside the lobby of the police department.

Established in 1994, two officers are assigned to this team. These officers respond to specialized requests for extra enforcement in specific areas, conduct traffic studies, participate in the Summer Mobile Force, and hold community talks. Their most visible activity is the bicycle patrol, seen routinely from May through September.

D.A.R.E. stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education and is taught to fifth grade students at all Bartlett elementary schools. D.A.R.E. is a 10-week program that educates younger children in resisting drug use. This is a nationally recognized program that seeks to combat drug use by preventing it before it becomes a problem.

Project Alert is a nationally recognized program aimed at reducing the interest in "gateway drugs" (marijuana, alcohol, cigarettes, and inhalants) to teenagers. This program is taught to seventh graders at Eastview Middle School by the Bartlett Police School Liaison Officer.

The crime prevention unit offers tours of the police department to all interested groups. Contact the crime prevention officer at 837-0846 to schedule a tour.