City of Rockford issued the following announcement on Apr. 7.
After five years as Chief of the Rockford Police Department, Dan O’Shea has announced he will retire on April 30.
“I’m proud of the progress we’ve made in this community over the last five years,” says Chief O’Shea. “My goal when I came to Rockford in 2016 was to focus on building relationships while reducing crime. We are doing that. We are making an incredible and tangible impact with our ROCK Houses and our programs for the area’s youth, and I know that will continue after my retirement.”
“Chief O’Shea has done an incredible job tackling violent crime in our City; building relationships within the police department, with the unions and across the community; and training the future leaders of the department,” says Mayor Tom McNamara. “The Chief should be commended for the progress he made throughout his tenure.”
Since Chief O’Shea’s arrival in 2016 to the end of 2020, there were decreases in crime across the board - property crime by 27 percent, aggravated assault by 42 percent, robberies by 70 percent, and auto thefts by 52 percent. The overall violent crime rate also decreased by 15.7 percent.
During his time as Chief, he has also reprioritized the department’s budget to support initiatives aimed at addressing root causes of our violent crime, including the Mayor’s Office of Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking Prevention and Camp Hope – a program focused on mentoring children from homes where they are exposed to domestic violence. In addition, he was instrumental in piloting our new Co-Responder Model - where law enforcement and clinicians work together in response to emergency calls that involve a person experiencing a behavioral health crisis. This new model provides law enforcement with appropriate alternatives to arrest.
“I’m grateful for his strong leadership and his dedication to community engagement,” says Mayor McNamara. “I wish him the very best in his retirement.”
The Board of Fire and Police Commissioners will now start the process to hire a new Chief.
Original source can be found here.
Source: City of Rockford
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