The Geneva Police Department recently rolled out our body-worn camera program, which was announced in our March 13 news release. While the program implementation was a State mandate, we believe the cameras will be very beneficial to our community and our officers.

The Police Department is extremely fortunate and very appreciative of the trust the Geneva community places in us. We believe the body-worn cameras will capture the outstanding work our police officers do every day. This technology will serve many purposes for our department, such as improving the safety of our police officers. While Geneva is an extremely safe city, our officers are still tasked with responding to many potentially dangerous calls for service. The presence of body-worn cameras can reduce the likelihood of someone harming an officer.

Cameras will regularly be used to provide department training. The police profession is very complex and changes rapidly. Utilizing real-world events occurring in Geneva will allow us to improve our performance and better serve our residents and visitors.

Cameras will be an invaluable tool to capture evidence, which can be used by our officers and detectives to potentially bring closure to an investigation. With this evidence being available during trials, police officers will spend less time in the courtroom and more time on the street working to make Geneva safer.

Police supervisors and other decision-makers will be able to use cameras to capture critical information that can assist in a disaster response. If the body-worn cameras had been available during the Feb. 27 tornado that struck Geneva, the video could have been reviewed to assist with damage assessment and response considerations. Similarly, cameras can provide valuable information to aid in the search for missing juveniles or adults.

While body-worn cameras will never replace the totality of what officers may encounter utilizing their experiences and five senses, they provide a view of what is occurring in a specific incident. The trust our community places in us is never taken for granted. It has to be earned every day. This technology furthers our commitment to continue to earn and maintain your trust.

Eric Passarelli

Police Chief

Environmental stewardship is one of Geneva's top priorities in our strategic plan.

The City practices sustainability to meet the needs of today, tomorrow and future generations to come.

As a proud member of the Greenest Region Compact (GRC), we are working toward realizing our values of environmental stewardship and preserving the natural environment.

Geneva's Green Corner highlights ways you can stay green.

With an increase in scammers targeting senior citizens, the Geneva Police Department will be hosting an educational seminar to help families protect themselves against financial fraud.

The event is geared toward seniors; however, the educational tools are important for people of all ages. Geneva Police Department Senor Care Officers Tony Duncan and Kaley Smith will lead the seminar and answer audience questions following the presentation.

Snacks and refreshments will be provided. Registration via the Geneva Library’s website is recommended but not required.

Special Olympics Illinois has presented Geneva Police Officer Chuck Parisi with the Flame of Hope Award for his 20 years of dedicated volunteer service to the organization.

The Flame of Hope Award is the highest honor of recognition given by Special Olympics Illinois and is presented annually to one individual and one police department in the state for their steadfast involvement in the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics. The award is based on the nominee’s ingenuity, drive, commitment, and dedication to the Torch Run, which directly impacts the lives of about 40,000 athletes and children with and without intellectual disabilities.

Officer Parisi received the award Feb. 2 during the annual Illinois Torch Run for Special Olympics kickoff conference in Bloomington, Ill.

“I am extremely proud of Officer Parisi and all that he has done on behalf of Special Olympics,” Geneva Police Chief Eric Passarelli said. “He regularly motivates the members of our department to become actively involved in supporting this important cause. Through his efforts, the funds raised by our officers for Special Olympics Illinois continue to increase each year. His selfless service makes him an outstanding recipient of the Flame of Hope Award.”

After being hired by the City in 2005, Officer Parisi has championed the cause of Special Olympics by taking the lead in the Geneva Police Department’s community fundraising efforts.

Officer Parisi has won the Top Cop award six times for raising the most money in the region for the annual Polar Plunge. He partnered with neighboring law enforcement agencies to station Geneva Police officers at area Dunkin stores as part of the Cop on a Rooftop (before the company recently opened a location in Geneva).

Officer Parisi launched the Geneva Police Department’s Tip A Cop events at local restaurants, coordinated selling Harley Davidson raffle tickets at Swedish Days, and has continued the department’s Special Olympics fundraising pig roast in memory of former Officer Keith Koza, who passed away from cancer in 2009.

Officer Parisi’s dedication helped the Geneva Police Department raise a record $46,387 for Special Olympics Illinois in 2023, nearly three times higher than average.

ComEd will be trimming trees in Geneva this spring.

Trimming operations are scheduled to occur from March to June in the following areas:

• Kirk Road; and
• Along the Union Pacific-West railway corridor.

While the City of Geneva owns and operates its own electric utility, ComEd runs power lines through the community to our substations as well as neighboring municipalities. The company states its vegetation management program helps ensure electrical reliability since tree branch contact with power lines is a leading cause of outages.

ComEd will notify affected residents about tree trimming taking place in their neighborhood.

The proliferation of technology and new apps make it a significant challenge to keep our children safe from exploitation and online predators.

The Geneva Police Department is currently investigating a case where a Geneva teen was contacted by a man through a social media gaming application. The man and an accomplice enticed the teen to provide funds to assist them in arranging an in-person meeting with the girl outside of Illinois. Our detectives launched an exhaustive investigation and were able to locate the teen out of state. Thankfully, she was safely returned home to her family.

While this case remains under investigation by other law enforcement agencies, this serves as an important reminder of what behaviors and warning signs parents should watch out for with their children, including:

• Attempts to be home alone as often as possible;
• Makes suspicious withdraws or deposits of money from a bank account;
• Hides their screen from your view or frequently prefers to use their device in private; and
• Uses an unfamiliar device. Some traffickers send cell phones or other electronic communication devices to their targets. If you find an unfamiliar device, your child may say that they are holding the device for a friend.

Parents can take action to keep their children safe while using the internet, social media and online games:

• Use parental controls to limit or restrict online activity;
• Insist your child create social media accounts with you – sharing passwords too – and show you how to use the platform; and
• Install parental monitoring software that is compatible with your child’s device. Some options include Bark, MSpy, Aura, EyeZy, and Norton Family.

By sharing this information, we hope parents stay vigilant in monitoring the online activity of their children.

Eric Passarelli

Police Chief

The City's 2024 monthly brush program got underway this week in Zone 1 and will transition to Zone 2 starting Monday, April 8.

Brush pickup is intended for the disposal of tree limbs and branches removed by the property owner for normal maintenance and upkeep, not for lot clearing. Kramer Tree Specialists will not collect material produced by a private contractor. You can find more information on our website.