A team of leaders from the Korean National Police visited the Chicago area this week to study the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System (NIPAS).
VERNON HILLS, IL – A team of leaders from the Korean National Police visited the Chicago area this week to study the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System (NIPAS). The group was visiting the United States to conduct research on the coordination mechanism, management, and training of the team. NIPAS represents a joint venture of suburban municipal police departments in the Chicago metropolitan area and is one of the largest part-time SWAT and civil disturbance reaction teams in the nation. The team is composed of law enforcement agencies of 107 cities and villages in five counties covering 768 square miles of the Chicago suburbs.
The three command officers from the Chugbuk, Chungnam, and Gwangju Provincial Police Agencies participated in organizational overview discussions with NIPAS Executive Board members. They also met with Emergency Services Team command personnel to learn about the operational teams and equipment. The week’s activities concluded with observations of a full team scenario training day and meetings with the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System (ILEAS) to learn about the statewide mutual aid system.
Overview
This past week, the Korean National Police Leadership Team came to learn about NIPAS (Northern Illinois Police Alarm System), the Emergency Response Unit and the Mobile Field Force. The Emergency Response Unit is a SWAT-type operation and the Mobile Field Force is for civil disorder.
On Monday, Chief Thomas Weitzel was joined at this meeting which was held at the Vernon Hills Police Department by Vernon Hills Police Chief Patrick Kreis, Lake Zurich Police Chief Steven Husak, and administrative staff from NIPAS.
The Korean National Police Team were here to study American police tactics, response, and protocols to assist the Korean National Police in revamping their law environment procedures.
This tour and meeting was set up by the State Department and the Counsel General for the Nation of Korea.
Chief Weitzel serves as vice president of NIPAS. NIPAS is a mutual aid organization which includes 107 member police agencies.
Photo Caption:
R to L, U.S. Police Officials, Vernon Hill Police Chief Patrick Kreis, Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel, and Lake Zurich Police Chief Steven Husak. KNPA delegation, Command Officers from the Chugbuk, Chungnam, and Gwangju Provincial Police Districts.
