Patrol Division

The Patrol Division’s primary function is to provide police services to the citizens of unincorporated Winnebago County. The Patrol Division is responsible for overall supervision of the Special Operations Section as well.

Technology continues to drive changes for the Patrol Division. Officers can now access information such as police reports, arrest records, citation, Orders of Protection, warrants and sex offenders all from the laptop in their squads. In addition, there are aerial maps of the county, with maps of all “hot spots,” including potential targets of terrorism, sex offenders and high crime areas all accessible from within the squad car. Officers can also conduct name, date of birth, partial license plate, nickname, gang affiliation, address and mug shot searches from their laptops.

The Uniform Services Bureau now employs a wireless system for its squad cars where officers can write and submit police reports and crash reports electronically. In addition to this, printers have been installed in all marked squads so tow-in reports and crash reports can be printed out while on scene. In the near future traffic citations will be computer generated and printed from the squad cars as well.