Community Policing Unit

COP Unit

The Munster Police Department's Community Oriented Policing (C.O.P.) Unit oversees our great number of community outreach programs including our Munster Neighborhood Crime Watch Program, Munster Business Crime Watch Program, Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS), the National Night Out Against Crime Celebration, Munster Police Explorers, School Resource Officers, Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) Program, Citizens Police Academy, Cops & Kids Program, and the Choice Community Council.

Community Policing Unit

School Resource Officers Gabe Isenblatter, Kevin Cooley, and James Ghrist

GhristOFFICER JAMES GHRIST joined the Munster Police Department in 2000 and is a certified Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) Instructor, Crime Prevention Officer, Bicycle Officer, and Indiana School Safety Specialist.  Officer Ghrist is a certified National School Resource Officer Association (NASRO) Practitioner and has also achieved Master Level Accreditation through the Indiana SRO Association.  He currently serves as the School Resource Officer for the three public and two parochial elementary schools and provides D.A.R.E. instruction to approximately 1,500 students in grades pre K-8 each year.  Officer Ghrist also supervises the Munster Neighborhood & Business Crime Watch Programs, National Night Out Against Crime Celebration, annual Snowflurry event, the Choice Community Council, "Cops & Kids" holiday shopping program, Dog Walker Watch Program, and "Coffee with a Cop" events and serves on the D.A.R.E. Indiana Advisory Council.  He is also available to provide security surveys for homes, businesses, or faith-based groups along with station tours, safety talks, and child safety seat installation assistance for parents.  Officer Ghrist can be contacted at 219-836-6639 or jghrist@munster.org.

Officer IsenblatterOFFICER GABRIEL ISENBLATTER joined the Munster Police Department in 2008 and is a certified School Resource Officer, Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) Instructor, Evidence Technician, Bicycle Officer, Field Training Officer, and Indiana School Safety Specialist.  He currently serves as the School Resource Officer at Munster High School.  Officer Isenblatter can be contacted at 219-836-6622 or gisenblatter@munster.org.

CooleyOFFICER KEVIN COOLEY joined the Munster Police Department in 1998 and was assigned as the first full-time School Resource Officer at Wilbur Wright Middle School in 2022.  He is a certified Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) Instructor, Indiana School Safety Specialist, and Field Training Officer.  Officer Cooley currently instructs the D.A.R.E. Program to approximately 350 8th grade students at Wilbur Wright Middle School each school year.  Officer Cooley can be contacted at 219-836-6650 or kcooley@munster.org.    

Community Policing is a very important part of our policing initiatives in Munster and some of our programs have been nationally-recognized and honored.  Please read more below about our programs that are held throughout the year.

Coffee with a Cop

Chief Steve Scheckel meets with some residents during a recent "Coffee with a Cop" at McDonald's.  Our department attempts to hold at least two of these types of events each year to meet residents and hear their concerns in an informal way.

The C.O.P. Unit also provides services such as home and business security inspections, car seat installation inspections and assistance, station tours, Coffee with a Cop events, community speakers, and safety talks for residents, businesses, or community organizations on a variety of different topics.

DARE Graduates

Graduates stand with Dr. Samantha Francis & D.A.R.E. Officer James Ghrist during a recent graduation ceremony held at St. Thomas More School

Our Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) Program began in 1988 and has provided safety lessons to thousands of Munster students in grades K-8 for over thirty years.  The program is completely funded through donations from our schools, businesses, residents, and community organizations.  Our current D.A.R.E. Officer, James Ghrist, was a member of the first graduating D.A.R.E. class in 1989.

NNO 2024

A photo taken during Munster's 2023 National Night Out Against Crime Celebration at the Munster Community Pool

Each August, the Munster Police Department organizes the annual National Night Out Against Crime Celebration, which has been held in Munster for 25 years.  For the past ten years, our National Night Out event has been one of the highest-ranked events out of the over 12,000 communities that participate each year.  In 2020, our National Night Out event was ranked as the #1 event in the United States in our population category.  The event includes a parade, fireworks, swimming, games, prizes, emergency vehicles, music, booth participants, and more and continues to grow in participation each year.

Neighborhood Watch

A large attendance of residents and business representatives attend a recent Munster Crime Watch Meeting at the Munster Town Hall.  The meetings are held every four months and include crime statistics, updates on recent events, and crime prevention information for the participants.

Our Munster Neighborhood Crime Watch Program was re-organized in 2005 and now consists of over 100 active groups all throughout town who receive our Munster Crime Watch Weekly Report newsletter.  The Munster Business Crime Watch Program was implemented in 2007 and now includes over 300 Munster businesses, faith-based groups, and schools.  Meetings are held every four months and always attract a large attendance.

Cops & Kids

Munster Police officers and fire fighters stand together during a recent year's Cops & Kids holiday shopping event at Target in Munster

Each December, Munster Police officers, aided by Munster Firefighters and Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS), take children in need shopping for toys and clothing with funds donated by local residents, businesses, and community organizations.  Since 2005, we have been able to assist many area children shopping thanks to the generosity of others.

Dog Walker Watch

Our Dog Walker Watch Program, founded in 2019, trains residents who walk their dogs on what to look out for and how to report suspicious activity effectively.  The program is an extension of our Neighborhood Crime Watch Program.

Our community policing programs have served as a model for a number of other agencies and several have been nationally recognized for their organization and community involvement.

Active Shooter Event

A packed room is provided with a presentation on Active Shooter Awareness & Prevention

Community Policing

For more information about our community policing programs or to request a station tour or safety talk, please contact Officer James Ghrist at 219-836-6639 or jghrist@munster.org.

Upcoming Events

Subscribe to this feed

Contact Us

James Ghrist,
D.A.R.E./Crime Prevention Officer

Police Department
1001 Ridge Rd
Munster, IN 46321
Get Directions

In this Department

Stay Connected: