Spring Valley Police Chief talks experience, goals and what's prepared him for his new role

SPRING VALLEY — Spring Valley Police Chief Adam Curran is officially on the job in his new capacity after outgoing chief Kevin Sangston’s retirement.

Curran took some time out of his busy schedule to talk to the BCR about his experience, goals for the department and what’s prepared him for this new role.

Curran is a graduate of Hall High School, Illinois Valley Community College and Western Illinois University where he majored in law enforcement and justice administration.

“I began my law enforcement career in 2004 when I began working as a correctional officer at the Bureau County Sheriff’s Office. Shortly after, I became a part-time police officer with the DePue and Bureau police departments. In January 2006, I was hired as a full-time officer at Spring Valley PD,” Curran said.

“I was promoted to the rank of sergeant in October 2015, promoted to the rank of deputy chief in February 2020, and remained in that position until my appointment as chief of police.”

Curran said he also is highly involved in the community as the president of Spring Valley Little League and Spring Valley Flag Football. Additionally, he’s a board member on the Hall Township Youth Basketball League and Spring Valley Red Devil baseball.

Curran said he’s ready to take on the role of chief after having been mentored by his predecessor and others along the way.

“I have been lucky enough to study under great chiefs and supervisors,” he said.

“When I began with the sheriff’s office and as a part-time officer, I had the luxury of learning from Jim Shipp, who was the chief of police at both departments, and I believe he was considered a lieutenant at Bureau County Sheriff’s Office at the time. His mentoring during these early stages of my career helped guide me to where I am at now.

“When I began at Spring Valley Police Department, I was fortunate enough to work under chief Doug Bernabei. Even though chief Bernabei took the chief position in Peru approximately seven-eight months later, I was taught that attention to detail in my work can go a long way. Chief Mike Miroux took over after chief Bernabei. Chief Miroux began giving me separate duties/tasks besides my normal patrol duties. Being able to complete these tasks, helped give me the confidence I needed and led to my supervisory duties,” he said.

Curran’s next position was under the leadership of Sangston along with former deputy chief Bill Sommer.

“The two of them helped guide me along the way,” Curran said. “Chief Sangston saw my abilities and believed in me to make good decisions and handle incidents properly. I became a supervisor of my shift prior to becoming a sergeant. They were confident in me enough that I became a lead homicide investigator and sexual assault investigator.”

Curran said since that time, he has been a part of several death, homicide and sexual assault/abuse cases.

“Chief Sangston continued to give me more administrative duties, which led to my promotion to deputy chief following the retirement of deputy chief Sommer. Since that promotion, my administrative role has increased tenfold. That role allowed me to be the understudy to chief Sangston, who showed me what it takes to be the chief of police in Spring Valley.

“I cannot say enough good things about chief Sangston. He has been a mentor and role model for me for years. He has taught me more things than I can remember, and I will be forever indebted to him and the rest of command staff listed. Being part of major investigations and learning the administrative duties that come with the command portion of law enforcement, have allowed me to become the person I am today.”

As he settles into his role as chief, Curran said he hopes to continue Sangston’s mission.

“He believed a good police department is highly involved in the community. This is also a philosophy of mine.  I want to keep working with our three schools (Hall, JFK and St. Bede) and keep our children safe,” he said. “ Currently, we have officers that do school resource duty at Hall on a part-time basis. I would like to have a full-time school resource officer eventually if our finances allow for it.

“I want to work with our local businesses, and let them know our department is here to keep their businesses safe from loss or destruction of property. I want to continue the National Night Out that chief Sangston has kept going for so many years. It is a great opportunity for children, as well as adults, to see the police in a good light, and to know that we do care for them.”

Curran said he also wants to focus on local children.

“I am currently looking into giving more to the children. We are lucky enough to have Walmart DC here, and they have been great in their donations. Through their donations, as well as other business owners, I am looking at bringing the ‘Shop with a Cop’ program back.  ‘Shop with a Cop’ is a program where officers take underprivileged children for lunch, and they take them to local retailers and let them buy presents for themselves or family members during the holiday season.  These are just some of the community-oriented goals I have,” he said.

Administratively speaking, Curran plans to integrate technology into day-to-day operations and investigations.

“Innovations in technology have been the reason some of our major cases were solved. I plan to upgrade our equipment at the department when it can be done in a fiscally responsible way,” he said.

Curran said he plans to look for grants that can help in financing some of the department’s needs.

“Recently, I have been in talks with the Arukah Institute of Healing and the Princeton Police Department about a grant to allow a social worker to ride with the officers. I believe this will be a great opportunity for this department as well as the community, and I thank both offices for reaching out on this progressive approach,” he said.

“From the law enforcement aspect, I will make sure that all criminal investigations are handled properly and thoroughly through the entire criminal justice process,” he said. “Our department has a great working relationship with the state’s attorney’s office, and they know if they need anything from an investigative standpoint we will do what needs to be done. Ordinance enforcement and traffic enforcement will be prioritized.”

Curran also wants citizens to know justice will be served fair, equally and without any type of bias.

“The officers of this department, most of whom have close ties within the community, truly care about this community. If anyone has a complaint or an issue, please do not hesitate to call for assistance. We want the community’s involvement and feedback,” he said. “The door to my office is always open to anyone who wishes to speak with me.”