A message from Chief James J. Dunne:

Welcome to the Wheeling Police Department home page. The Police Department’s mission is to provide public services that support the evolving needs of our residents and businesses by improving the overall safety, health, and welfare of the community. We are proud of our history and fortunate to have developed a strong relationship with a community that respects the law and appreciates its Police Department, which includes some of the finest officers in the country.

The Wheeling Police Department is committed to providing professional and ethical police services to our residents and visitors. We have a strong commitment to working with our community—including businesses and other organizations—to create a safe environment to live, work, and shop. The Wheeling Police Department is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), which indicates that we adhere to the highest standards in public safety. In 2019 CALEA awarded the Police Department national accreditation in the law enforcement program following a multi-year self-assessment phase and a meticulous site-based assessment of community engagement, policy, procedures, equipment, and facilities by CALEA assessors. I was honored to represent the Department at the CALEA conference in Covington, Kentucky, where the commission reviewed its findings and determined our accreditation status. This event was particularly special in that the Department earned its ninth award of national accreditation, as well as two additional award designations: the Accreditation with Excellence Award and the Meritorious Award. The Wheeling Police Department was first accredited in 1990.

Our Department is staffed by 60 sworn officers who are assigned to patrol, traffic, criminal investigations, or serve as a school resource officer. In addition, we have four community service officers, 20 dispatchers who work in the 24-hour Communications Center, and nine civilian personnel.

Our Department remains actively involved in various mutual-aid agreements, as well as on regional task forces focused on the investigation of homicides, major traffic crashes, and burglaries, and on special weapons and tactics (SWAT) and riot control. We are members of the Major Case Assistance Team (MCAT), the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System (ILEAS), and the Northern Illinois Police Alarm Systems Emergency Services Team (NIPAS) and Field Force (MFF). Participation on these teams provides an outstanding level of professional service for our residents in these specialized disciplines of law enforcement when the need arises.

As the needs of the community change, we continually look for ways to modify and improve our services. Therefore, we welcome requests for assistance from schools, residents, churches, and businesses to help with issues that they may be experiencing. We view these requests as opportunities to work toward our shared goal of improving the quality of life in the Village of Wheeling.

We hope you are able to find many useful tools on our website. As always, do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.


 Best regards,