Cary Police Chief Leaving for Buffalo Grove

Cary's top cop is leaving for Buffalo Grove.

Buffalo Grove has selected Cary Police Chief Steven Casstevens to replace its outgoing chief, according to Buffalo Grove Village Manager Dane Bragg.

Casstevens has more than 30 years experience as a law enforcement and management professional. He will replace after 36 years serving the village.

Casstevens will assume his post in Buffalo Grove on June 10. He was selected from a pool of 75 applicants from 24 states through a search conducted by Deerfield-based Voorhees & Associates, the Village of Buffalo Grove said in a press release.

Through a series of candidate evaluations, oral interviews and applied knowledge assessments, the selection team narrowed the original pool to seven candidates and later selected three finalists to compete for the department’s top spot.

Bragg recognized Casstevens’s breadth and depth of experience as a key factor in his selection.

"Steve demonstrated the highest level of competence in leading a first-rate law enforcement agency, a commitment to strong and ethical leadership and the management qualities the Village needs to maintain the department as a top tier agency,” Bragg said.

Bragg added that Casstevens is the type of leader who doesn’t shy away from a challenge and recognizes the need for long-term planning and sustainability in law enforcement.

Casstevens joined the Cary Police Department in 2011, after serving for 30 years in the Village of Hoffman Estates. While in Hoffman Estates, Casstevens rose through the ranks beginning as a patrol officer in 1981 up to promotion to assistant chief of police in 2000.

In Cary, Casstevens managed the operations of a department of 28 sworn and five civilian personnel. He developed and managed a department budget of $3.8 million. His experience in Cary ranged from developing new policies and procedures, designing new employee training programs, and was the designated emergency service disaster agency coordinator.

“In the course of my career, it has been a source of personal pride that I have been involved in innovative programs that have saved lives, reduced injury and brought national recognition to the communities that I have worked for," Casstevens said in a prepared statement. "I look forward to being a part of the future of the Buffalo Grove Police Department.”

A reception will be held to welcome Casstevens to Buffalo Grove at 6:30 p.m. June 17 at Village Hall, immediately preceding the regularly scheduled Village Board meeting.