Community policing program adds new beat, new officers

Three new resident beat officers, including the Village’s first woman RBO, have been named and a new beat added to the south end of the community.

The former Zone 7, which encompassed the entire Village south of the expressway, will now be split at East Avenue, forming two zones.

New RBO Greg Hyppolite will be the neighborhood contact in the new Zone 7, which now extends from Austin Boulevard to East Avenue and from the Eisenhower Expressway to Roosevelt Road.

The new Zone 8 territory from East Avenue to Harlem Avenue and the expressway to Roosevelt, will be handled by veteran RBO John Rumoro.

New faces

Officer Mark Scott will be the new RBO in Zone 6, which encompasses the area between the Eisenhower and Madison Street, and from Oak Park Avenue to Austin Boulevard. Scott will replace Dave Jacobson who was recently promoted to sergeant.

Officer Elizabeth Fox is the new RBO in Zone 2, which includes the area bound by Ridgeland, Harlem, North and Chicago avenues. She has lived in Oak Park for most of her life and is a graduate of Oak Park and River Forest High School.

Veterans remain

Zone 1, which includes the area from Ridgeland to Austin and North to Chicago, will continue to rely on Officer Anthony Coleman.

Officer Eric Locke will continue as RBO for Zone 3, which encompasses the area from Austin to Harlem, and Chicago to the elevated train tracks south of Lake Street.

Officer Paul Razzino is the RBO in Zone 4, which includes the area bounded by Austin, Oak Park Avenue, Madison Street and the elevated train tracks.

Zone 5, which includes the area from Oak Park to Harlem and the elevated train tracks to the Eisenhower, will continue to be served by Officer Sean O’Shea.

Neighborhood focus

The Resident Beat Officer Program promotes communication at the neighborhood level by assigning officers to work from their homes, which are located in their respective beats. As a neighborhood resident, each RBO works directly with his or her neighbors to identify and address local problems.

For more information on the RBO Program, call 386.3800, email police@oak-park.us or visit www.oak-park.us, where contact information, photos of each RBO and quarterly Zone newsletters are posted.

Two Oak Park Police veterans promoted to commanders

Two sergeants with a combined experience of 42 years in the Oak Park Police Department have been promoted to the rank of commander. Wayne R. Banta, who was a detective sergeant and member of the force for 27 years, is a commander in the Patrol Division. Phyliss Howard, who was a sergeant in the Patrol Division and member of the department for 15 years, is a commander of Community Policing Division. Banta, a Village resident for 26 years, held positions in the Patrol and Detective divisions before being promoted to sergeant in 1999. As commander in Field Services, Banta’s duties will include overseeing a patrol shift. Howard, who graduated from Oak Park River Forest High School, has held positions of increasing rank as juvenile investigator, school resource officer and supervisor of juvenile investigations, experience that should prove useful overseeing the Resident Beat Officers and School Resource Officers. Howard also is the first woman to hold the position of commander in Oak Park. For more information on the Oak Park Police Department, call 386.3800 or email police@oak-park.us.