Steve Casstevens
Steve Casstevens is the retired Chief of Police with the Buffalo Grove, IL Police Department. Before becoming Chief in Buffalo Grove, he retired in 2011 as an Assistant Chief with the Hoffman Estates, IL Police Department, where he served for nearly 30 years. He then served as Chief of Police with the Cary, IL Police Department for 2 ½ years prior to being hired in Buffalo Grove June of 2013. He began his law enforcement career in the Military Police with the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division in 1976.
Steve is a Past President of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police (ILACP - 2016). He is also Past President of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP 2019-2020). He serves on the Executive Committee of “Fight Crime-Invest in Kids” as well Co-Chair of their National Leadership Council. He also serves on the Advisory Board for the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, the Board of Directors for L.E.A.D. – Law Enforcement Against Drugs, the Advisory Board for Citizens Behind the Badge, Advisory Board for the Global Police Network, and is a founding board member of the International Road Policing Alliance. He is an Executive Board member of the Illinois Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF).
He has authored numerous articles for Police Chief Magazine, Command Magazine and Law and Order. His 2011 keynote speech to a basic law enforcement academy class was featured in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. He served as an adjunct instructor for Northwestern University Center for Public Safety for nearly 20 years. He has been a guest speaker for WYCC – Chicago TV, WGN Radio, Fox News, C-SPAN, Washington Journal, the Sean Spicer Show as well as several state and national law enforcement conferences. He has been called upon to testify before a Congressional Committee on health benefits for law enforcement and recently was called before the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice to provide testimony on the issue of police officer safety and wellness. In 2020 he testified before a Senate Judiciary Hearing on Police Reform and in 2021 he testified at a Senate Hearing on law enforcement’s response to the mental health crisis in the U.S.
Steve served as a squad supervisor for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. He has worked on numerous special projects on a state and national level. In 2012 he began an unprecedented project with a select team of law enforcement professionals and Northwestern University Center for Public Safety to develop a Highway Patrol agency and training academy for the Arab State of Qatar. He has traveled extensively to meet with law enforcement leaders in Brazil, Taiwan, EUROPOL – The Hague, Netherlands, INTERPOL – Lyon, France, AMERIPOL – Panama City, ASIANAPOL – Singapore, GCC-POL – Abu Dhabi, Israel, Dubai, Austria, London, and Ireland.
He has been the recipient of numerous local, state, and national awards, including the two highest awards in the nation for highway safety: In 1997 he was the national law enforcement recipient of the “J. Stannard Baker Award” from the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, for lifetime achievement in highway safety. In 2004 he received the National Public Service Award from NHTSA for his contributions and achievements in traffic and highway safety. In 2015 he received the ILACP Highway Safety Leadership Award. In 2017 he was recognized by the Illinois Crime Commission with their Lifetime Achievement – Excellence in Law Enforcement Award. In 2020 he received the National Champion for Kids award from “Fight Crime – Invest in Kids” and also in 2020 he received the Law Enforcement Official of the Year award from the Illinois Security Professionals Association.
Steve is a graduate of the 51st class of Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff & Command (1991), the Executive Management Program and a member of the 216th session of the FBI National Academy, Quantico, VA (2004). He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice Management from Judson University, and is a Certified Police Chief through the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police.