Community
Community Programs
Building Stronger Community Connections
The Fairview Heights Police Department offers a variety of community programs that strengthen relationships between officers and residents while promoting safety, education, and public engagement. Explore youth and school-based initiatives, citizen and senior academies, community outreach programs, emergency preparedness resources, and opportunities to learn, volunteer, and stay connected with local law enforcement.
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Crime Free Multi-Housing Program
Seminar Dates
Attending and completing Parts One and Two of the selected seminar is required to maintain your residential license.
The Fairview Heights and O’Fallon Crime Free Rental Programs have recently combined efforts to provide rental property owners and managers with more class date options. Attending a seminar at either location will fulfill the ordinance attendance requirement.
Please RSVP prior to attending a seminar. Fairview Heights rental property owners/managers may RSVP for a seminar at either location by calling 618-489-2144 or 618-489-2003.
Seminars are subject to cancellation if less that 5 RSVP’s are received.
You will be notified of any cancellations at least 3 days prior to the scheduled date.
Stay tuned to our announcements for the next class offering.
Everbridge
The City of Fairview Heights has partnered with St. Clair County Emergency Management to bring you Everbridge. This program is offered to our residents, free of charge, and gives our residents the opportunity to sign up to receive important information from the City by telephone.
Everbridge will be used to notify residents about important information, such as missing children or disabled adults in your area, significant crime events in your area, evacuation routes during an emergency, temporary road closures, and other information that may be critical to your needs as a citizen. You can also sign up to receive notifications by text on your cell phone or by emails, too.
With this system, you will receive a telephone call whenever there is a severe thunderstorm, tornado, or winter storm warning issued for the City. These notices are only sent out if Fairview Heights is determined to be in the path of the storm. And, they are only sent out for weather warnings, not watches.
Enroll by visiting member.everbridge.net.
Juvenile Services
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D.A.R.E.
The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program or D.A.R.E. is at the forefront of substance use prevention education programs and is being taught in 75% of our nations school districts. It began in 1983 in Los Angeles as a cooperative effort between the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Unified School District. Over the past 42 years, the D.A.R.E. curriculum has evolved and been revamped several times in order to stay current.
The program continues to utilize uniformed Law Enforcement officers as instructors. Each D.A.R.E. officer undergoes an extensive 80-hour program that provides the officer with the skills required to properly present the curriculum. This training, along with the officer on the street experience, provides the officer with the knowledge to answer the difficult questions often posed by young students.
School Resource Officer
Since the 2001-2002 school year, the Fairview Heights Police Department, in partnership with Pontiac-William Holliday School District #105 and Grant-Illini School District #110, has provided the services of a School Resource Officer (SRO.)
The School Resource Officer concept is nationally recognized as a program that utilizes an experienced law enforcement officer in the school setting on a full-time basis. The program is a team effort between police departments and members of the school community cooperatively addressing issues that impact the safety, learning environment, and other community concerns in and around the school setting. The SRO program is an integral part of the Community Oriented Policing philosophy. Each school becomes the School Resource Officer’s “community” to provide a full range of personalized police services.
Placing a police officer in the schools is not a response to serious problems that exist within the schools. Rather, it is a proactive approach to cooperatively identifying and crafting solutions to potential issues before they occur. Seeing a police car on school property is a sign of progress not problems.
Since its inception, the SRO program has seen a number of successes. As a community liaison, the SRO has assisted in coordinating the efforts of school personnel with community support services in resolving community related issues within the schools. Classroom presentations have given the SRO an opportunity to promote a better student understanding of our laws and the role of law enforcement in the community. The SRO’s regular presence in the schools has provided an opportunity for ongoing positive interaction with students and school staff and has fostered a positive relationship with the school community.
In June of 2006, the School Resource Officer Program and the DARE Program were consolidated and a School Resource/DARE Officer was assigned to a specific school district.
Officer Brian Zywicki
Officer Brian Zywicki is the SRO for Pontiac and William Holliday Schools
Officer Ryan Stitt
Officer Ryan Stitt is the SRO for Grant Middle School and Illini Elementary
Academics
The Citizens Police Academy will host its 14th session of this academy in the fall of 2026. The citizens meet one night per week for 10 weeks to learn more about policing in Fairview Heights. Activities include crime scene processing, police and county jail tours, drug enforcement, canine demonstrations, shooting at the police range and simulator, conduct mock vehicle stops and much more! The academy is co-coordinated by Officer Jon Friederich, Sgt. Ryan Weisenborn and Executive Assistant Amber Hopkins. This academy is a requirement to start volunteering with the Fairview Heights Police Department.
This free program is very popular and fills up quickly, as space is limited. Preference goes to Fairview Heights residents, but all are welcome to apply!
Our next Citizen’s Police Academy will start accepting applications in July, and will meet for 10 weeks, meeting each Wednesday evening from 6-9 p.m. Application packets will be in the PD lobby.
The Senior Citizens’ Academy graduated its 33rd academy in the fall of 2025. The next Senior Academy will begin in September of 2026 and run for 6 weeks on Thursday afternoons from 1-3:30 p.m. Participants will be provided instruction on crime and safety pertinent to their needs and interests. This is a very popular program for our seniors! The program is led by Detective Alex Joseph, who is one of the department’s Stop the Bleed instructors.
The Fairview Heights Police Youth Academy is an innovative program that was first introduced in Fairview Heights in 1974. It has run every year since. The program is a two week academy held during the summer for young adults, 12 to 15 years of age. It exposes youth to facets of law enforcement , team building, leadership and community service. The academy costs $100 per student, and space is very limited. Fairview Heights residents and past participants will be given priority over all other applicants. The program is coordinated by SRO Ryan Stitt, SRO Brian Zywicki, and Executive Assistant, Amber Hopkins.
In 2025, we celebrated our 50th session of the Youth Academy! It’s one of the longest running Police Youth Academies in the nation!
Participants can take part in physical training, tours of the St. Clair County Jail, learn valuable skills in Stop the Bleed, and watch demonstrations by our SWAT officers. They will learn online computer safety, drug awareness, self-defense, and learn leadership skills.
The 51st session, to take place in June of 2026, is now FULL!
Premise Alert
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What is the Premise Alert Program?
The Illinois Premise Alert Program (Public Act 96-0788 or 430 ILCS/132) allows people with special needs to provide information to police, fire, and EMS personnel to be stored in a database for use in an emergency situation. The information can then be provided to responders dealing with situations involving the special needs individuals.
How does it aid those with special needs or disabilities?
The program requires public safety agencies which utilize a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system to maintain a database of those citizens with special needs. The personnel manning the Fairview Heights Police Department Communications Center will have access to the special needs of a given individual and will transmit that information to first responders (police, fire, ambulance). The knowledge provided to the first responders will aid them in assisting you based on your situation or needs in an emergency situation or call for service. Individuals must understand that the information provided to the Premise Alert Program will not result in any type of preferential treatment to the individual.
How do I get involved in the program?
Complete the Premise Alert Program Enrollment Form. You can access the form by clicking here or the form may be picked up at the Fairview Heights Police Department, Fairview Heights Fire Department, French Village Fire Department or at the Fairview Heights Municipal Complex. Once the information is verified, the individual can be entered into the database. The information provided will be kept confidential and used only to provide police, fire, and EMS personnel with the information needed to deal with situations or emergencies involving a special needs person.
Who is eligible?
For the purposes of the Premise Alert program “disability” and “special needs individual” are defined as:
- “Disability” means an individual’s physical or mental impairment substantially limits one or more of the major life activities; a record of such impairment; or when the individual is regarded as having such impairment.
- “Special needs individuals” means those individuals who have or are at increased risk for a chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, or emotional condition and who also require health and related services of a type or amount beyond that required by individuals generally.
Community Safety Programs
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R.A.D. (Rape Aggression Defense System)
R.A.D., short for Rape Aggression Defense System is a free class offered to all women over the age of 14. The four-week training focuses on education and awareness and empowers women to say NO, defend themselves, and prepare for “real world” encounters. This internationally recognized program has a lifetime return and practice policy. Four instructors Detective Sergeant Aaron Nyman, Detective Hannah Millington, Lt. Aaron Nyman, and Executive Assistant Amber Hopkins have taught over 500 women how to defend themselves in the short time this program has been offered. Classes are held several times a year.
Stop the Bleed
Stop the Bleed was added to our free classes for citizens in 2018. The initiative was created by the American College of Surgeons to teach bleeding control. The theory is to teach non-medical personnel how to properly pack wounds and use tourniquets in case of an active shooter or other mass casualty event. We currently have several instructors who provide the proper techniques to save lives during this two hour course. The classes are held at various times throughout the year and all participants are given a free tourniquet to take home.
Contact An Officer
Phone
Non-Emergency
618.489.2100
Administration
618.489.2158
Investigations
618.489.2130
Crime-Free Housing
618.489.2144
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