A new partnership between the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office and Winfield Police Department promises to bring a level of crime fighting it hopes it never needs but is thrilled to have.
Winfield, with its department of less than 15 officers, has joined the Lake County Prosecutor’s Homicide Task Force, Prosecutor’s Office spokeswoman Myrna Maldonado said in a release Tuesday.
The move “will further strengthen communication, coordination and investigative resources among agencies working to solve homicides and hold violent offenders accountable throughout Lake County,” she said.
“For smaller communities, it’s always a challenge to handle a major crime scene, so this partnership is a huge safety net for us,” said Winfield Police Chief Bob Byrd, who was part of the team that initially started the Homicide Task Force.
“This partnership is a force multiplier in that it has proven law enforcement officers leading the way, plus you have the coroner’s office and its pathologists, and then in comes the prosecutor’s office. The work they do is just off-the-charts.”
Lake County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tim Brown serves as the team lead, Maldonado said in the release, and under his leadership, the Homicide Task Force “promotes close cooperation between local police departments and the Prosecutor’s Office whenever a homicide occurs within Lake County.”
With major crime scenes and all their fast-moving parts, having the multi-agency behind it fills a void and takes the stress off Winfield officers to be all things at once, Byrd said.
“Whenever there’s a homicide, it’s all hands-on deck, anyway, but getting the officers and then setting up and conducting the follow-up and everything that goes with it, it’s nice to have extra staff,” Byrd said.
Joining the partnership doesn’t cost the town of Winfield nor its police department any money, Byrd added.
“We welcome Chief Bob Byrd and the Winfield Police Department to the Homicide Task Force,” Lake County Prosecuting Attorney Bernard Carter said in the release. “Solving violent crimes requires law enforcement agencies to work together, share resources and remain united in protecting our communities.
“We are stronger when we work together. Every agency that joins this partnership increases our ability to seek justice for victims and their families while making Lake County safer.”
The Lake County Prosecutor’s Office encourages other police departments throughout the county to consider entering into the partnership because the member agencies “can expand their collective expertise and provide stronger, more coordinated responses to homicide investigations,” Maldonado said.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
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