Peru Police Department wants part-time social worker

The Peru Police Department may begin the search for a part-time social worker, if the committee and Peru City Council approve the proposal.

“This is something we have talked about for a couple years,” Alderman Tom Payton said at Monday’s Public Works Committee meeting. “And she just wanted me to bring it back up to you guys … and again [Sunday’s] incident was kind of one of those things that brings this back to the forefront.”

A man was shot and killed by a uniformed law enforcement officer Sunday in La Salle after police said he exited a building and pointed a handgun at another officer. The standoff drew police from across the region.

Chief Sarah Raymond said police officers are providing some type of social welfare service on their calls.

“They generally describe their job duties as enforcing the law and affecting criminal arrests,” she said. “It’s actually only about 20% of their job.”

Raymond said a social worker will be effective for the job performance and professional wellbeing of the officers, as well, in any partnership between the police and social worker or any social services that are offered. This can occur in situations that would involve a mental health crisis, domestic violence, juvenile justice and child welfare cases.

She said a social worker was called in for the incident on Sunday.

“To have had somebody, our own personal in-house social worker to help provide services to the officers that are involved in incidents, such as that, or any critical incident, I think it’s a really important aspect of this job,” Raymond said.

She said the role of social worker would not just be for police officers, it also would be for the community to help facilitate services.

The process may take a few weeks, as the committee is doing its due diligence to ensure the process is done correctly, Payton said.