DANVILLE, Ill (WAND) -- A new special unit has been added to the Danville Police Department as of Monday.
The special unit is called the Problem-Oriented Policing Unit also known as the POP Unit. Its focus and goal are to target problem areas of the city. The department now has four police members that are part of that unit that's been in the works for about five years.
"The Pop Unit they show up to work and they don't have an assigned area or assigned calls for service. They can kind of go out and be proactive rather than reacting to a call. They are not tied down to a 911 dispatch. Whether they believe people are hanging out with guns or with drugs, I mean, you name it," says Commander, Dough Miller.
Miller says he remembers it existing back in 2015 when he was new to the police department.
"There were three officers and a sergeant on the POP unit and then we kind of lost those positions and I know when Chief Yates took his position it was a priority and a goal," he says.
The pop unit had stopped in the past due to staffing and attrition. However, when Police Chief Chris Yates took on his role, he made it his priority to reinforce the unit.
"He set a deadline for May of 2020 and now here we are," says Miller.
Miller says a Community Housing Unit (CHU) has also been added to Danville. This unit will focus on targeting apartment complexes and rental housing. The goal is to help the community get to know their men and women in blue and to be able to confide in them and hopefully reduce the crime rate.
A Traffic Unit is also set to open sometime this year. This unit will focus on all driving.
