SYCAMORE | Sycamore Chief of Police Don Thomas is a man of many honors.

Hanging on his office walls are awards from the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games where he was member of the security team. Trained at Northwestern University and by the Federal Bureau of Investigation at Quantico, Va., Thomas has won gold and bronze medals from the World Police and Fire Games.

Before coming to Sycamore, Thomas worked in Huntley for almost two years, in St. Charles for 24 years and was hired by the U.S. Department of State to work in Bosnia under the United Nations for one year.

Since 2001, during Thomas’ tenure, the town has grown by 3,000 people and he has added five officers to round out the force at 26 officers.

“Since I’ve been here, we’ve hired 12 officers; most are replacements [for retirees and officers who have left Sycamore],” Thomas said. “We need about two more officers.”

Thomas explained that the city is expanding north to its boundary of Whipple Road.

“There are about 85 miles of streets,” he said. “People like to see officers twice a day drive by their houses.”

The chief described his force as “very young and very dedicated.” While the national average of female officers is 10 percent of the force, Thomas said his force is at 20 percent.

“We did that by requesting more females to take the test,” he said.

Out of 11 officers, about two-thirds have been sent to the academy. Thomas himself was sent to the basic academy at the University of Illinois when he had a full workload.

“It was six weeks back then; now it’s 12,” Thomas said. “I would have liked to go longer. It was a vacation for me to go to the academy.”

Incoming officers are required to take a written test, have 60 college hours, good character and be in good physical condition.

“You need to understand all types,” Thomas said. “You’ve got to understand human nature and take a few lumps and not get offended too quickly.”

Thomas tries to make the community of his force professional while avoiding using “we’re a family.”

“We’re a different form of family,” Thomas said. “We’re a team. Many people who work [at the department] live in the community. They have a stake in the quality of law enforcement.”

Thomas, who travels outside the state to evaluate other departments, said that other forces do not stack up against his own.

“The city is blessed with the officers that work here. I know it sounds touchy-feely, but it’s true,” he said.