Winnetka turns to private security as police department struggles to fill force

Facing challenges with filling open positions on its police department, the Winnetka Village Council on Tuesday unanimously approved an agreement with a private security firm to supplement its police department and boost its patrol presence throughout the Village.

The agreement with P4 Security Solutions, of Downers Grove, will take effect April 1, according to the Village.

Winnetka Police Chief Brian O’Connell told the council on Tuesday, March 18, that over the past few years the North Shore, including Winnetka, has seen an increase in certain crimes, such as burglaries to businesses, homes and vehicles, as well as car thefts.

O’Connell said with the changes, there have also been increases in criminals using firearms. As previously reported by The Record, this includes two notable incidents in Winnetka from last year: an attempted armed robbery last July and a shootout on Sheridan Road last May.

Adding to the challenges faced by law enforcement are a lack of applicants for open positions, he said.

“Over the last few years, when it comes to recruitment and retention, with the increase in crime, we’ve also seen struggles with recruitment,” O’Connell said. “And this is a problem and a challenge that we’re seeing across the country in the field of law enforcement.”

He added that “balancing the staffing shortages while maintaining community safety is a worry and it’s a concern,” and said it can take up to a year for a new police recruit to be fully trained and be ready to patrol on their own.

“How do we maintain the appropriate level of safety for our community while being unable to fill vacancies immediately?” O’Connell asked. “It’s a hard question to answer.”

The “outside-the-box” solution, he said, was to hire a third party security company to supplement patrol operations, which led them to P4 Security Solutions.

According to O’Connell, P4 hires off-duty and retired law enforcement officers to patrol areas and help deter crime. Among the agency’s clients are Northwestern University, Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, the Chicago Bears, and the Chicago neighborhoods of Streeterville, Lincoln Park and Bucktown, among others.

The goal is to have P4 assist with tasks including patrols, directing traffic, securing crime scenes if necessary, and being a presence within the Village.

P4 employees will not be able to make arrests or issue tickets, according to the board packet, though they will be armed, in uniform and drive their own vehicles, which will be white instead of black, like the Winnetka Police Department’s vehicles.

He also said there is $500,000 in the Village’s 2025 budget for contracted services, and that around $367,000 of that will go to P4. Additionally, the contracted security professionals will work from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Steve Vitale, president and principal of P4, told the council that the security officers will not replace the police department.

“Our job here is to observe, report and deter,” he said. “It’s not meant to replace the police. We’re not looking for suspicious people, we’re looking for suspicious activity, and then communicating that with the police department.”

O’Connell also stressed that P4 will not be a substitute for the Winnetka Police Department.

“By supplementing our patrol officers with P4, Winnetka Police can continue to ensure the highest level of security, increase community engagement, and optimize resource allocation,” he said. “And while the end goal still remains to increase our sworn police officer staffing, P4 can provide us that immediate fill, where we can have an immediate presence and expertise in contributing to a safer and more secure community.”

Trustees voiced support for P4.

“I think this is a great intermediate solution, and we do love our police. There’s no question,” Trustee Bridget Orsic said. “We think that they deal with all of the community members with the highest level of professionalism, and anything we can do to relieve the stress that being understaffed causes, I think we’re all more than happy to do.”

Village President Chris Rintz said the Village and police department have been discussing this for around 18 months.

“Understand that there’s been a lot of diligence and a lot of effort trying to find a good solution to how we protect our community, especially in this time where we don’t have enough bodies to fill the positions,” he said.

P4’s contract runs until Dec. 31, 2026.

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