In the Squad Room - Helicopters Overhead
Every week, Linda Hansen attends the Evanston Police Department’s Deployment Meetings, takes notes on various topics and writes about other police-related matters of interest to ordinary citizens like her.
Helicopters in the sky? People wanted to know what
was going on. Because some of them knew
that there was a Deployment Meeting at the EPD that day, they thought I’d have
the answer. Turned out, of course, it
was WGN’s Skycam 9 covering the sinkhole story on Monroe and Asbury. It must have been a slow news day the next
morning, too, when I spotted another one in the sky.
The main focus of this week’s meeting was on the
number of Shots Fired calls received by the EPD. There were four during the period, including
one that resulted in the discovery of a gunshot victim in the 1300 block of
Dobson on 2/2. The 33-year old male was
in a car when an individual wearing a black hoodie approached the vehicle and
fired several shots. His injuries are not life threatening. Detectives are asking anyone with information
about this shooting to contact the EPD or Text-a-tip by texting CRIMES
(274637).
Most shootings in Evanston have some gang-related affiliation. The Investigative Services Division regularly
maintains and updates flowcharts detailing alliances among gangs, conflict maps
illustrating their fractious relationships and rosters of established and
‘up-and-coming’ gang members. These were shared in Wednesday’s meeting.
Now, the rest of the news.
Deployment
Meeting – February 3, 2016
Past Week:
- A heroin-related O.D.: On 1/28, a victim was discovered in the 2300
block of Ridgeway, suffering from what appeared to be an overdose of methadone
and heroin. The victim was taken to the
hospital and was successfully treated.
- Skokie and Lincolnwood PDs alerted the EPD to a number of recent
residential burglaries in their communities where a Kia Sedona was captured on
video.
- A restaurant in the 1000 block of Church was burglarized between 1/28
and 1/29. The thief or thieves made off
with a desktop computer and unsecured cash.
- Police were called on a wellbeing check to an address in the 800 block
of Hinman. The deceased individual’s death was ruled heart failure by the M.E.
- Conflicts inside and outside our borders may have contributed to the
number of Shots Fired calls received during the week: on 1/27, a car was fired
upon near Main and McCormick in Skokie.
On 1/29 shots were fired and four 9MM shell casings were discovered in
the 2000 block of Dewey. On 2/1, an
individual reported being shot at in the 2000 block of Emerson.
- A juvenile was arrested on 2/1 when witnesses were able to describe an
offender breaking into a garage in the 800 block of Clinton. Police located the suspect in the 800 block
of Monticello when he was found, with burglary proceeds, leaning against a fence,
intoxicated. That juvenile was charged with residential burglary and sent to
the Juvenile Correction Center.
- Radio transmissions at the EPD’s Communications Center hit a speedbump on
2/2, when a wire was nicked. The interruption was momentary and repaired
promptly. We were reminded that last
year the Communications Center’s antenna was struck by lightning.
- On 1/30, police were called to an address in the 1600 block of Fowler
and were able to secure four firearms from an individual likely suffering from
a mental illness. The person had a valid
FOID card and was not charged with any crime, but was taken to Evanston
Hospital for evaluation.
- Known offenders: Proving it pays
to choose your friends and acquaintances carefully, person attending a party in
the 2000 block of Maple took someone’s Macbook and a backpack; on 2/1, a Honda
was stolen in the 1900 block of Howard by a person known to the owner.
- They were there: Among a myriad of other events attended by PST
officers were these: Latino Summit at Gibbs-Morrison Cultural Center on 1/27,
Live in Peace meeting on 1/28, the NU Off Campus meeting on 2/2 and the Ninth
Ward meeting at the Levy Center on 2/3.
- Digital speed tracker boxes were stolen in separate incidents by
removing the devices from the poles in the 2200 block of Central Park Avenue
and the 2900 block of Payne between 1/29 and 2/1.
- Building bridges: The success of the first Law and Your Community program
at Family Focus means that more sessions will follow. The first class of 15 teens graduated last
month.
Please keep your questions coming. Send them to Commander Diane Davis and we’ll do our best to get you the answers. If you put In The Squad Room in the subject line, they’ll find their way to me.
Looking Ahead:
- PST officers will attend the Black History Month Kickoff at Fleetwood-Jordain
on 2/6 and the West End Block Club meeting at the Lemar House on 2/9.
-
The EPD will continue to focus attention on these locations: Beats 75
and 76 for burglaries, the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center, local banks,
schools, transit stations and known gang hotspots, along with ETHS dismissals.
Neighborhoods where recent shootings and Shots Fired calls have originated will
receive additional patrols.
Inquiring Minds:
The EPD Office of Professional
Standards investigates allegations of misconduct involving the department and
its members. Allegations of complaints
have continued to decline. A comparison statistical analysis can be viewed in
the Departments Annual Report. The EPD’s Annual Report will be available on
line soon. The declining trend can be attributed the department’s transparency,
use of their audio and visual equipment and diversity and customer service
training.
 The ON-GOING GUN BUYBACK
PROGRAM allows Evanston residents to turn in an operational firearm to
police at any time in exchange for $100. Residents can utilize this
service by calling 311 or the Evanston Police Department
non-emergency line at 847-866-5000. A police officer will pick up the unwanted
firearm at the resident's address and present the resident with a voucher that
can be exchanged for $100 at the city collector’s office located in the Morton
Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.
Firearms should not be brought to
the police department, unless prior approval has been granted from a supervisor at the police department. An officer will call the resident after a request is
made for the officer to come to a person's residence and retrieve the firearm.
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 What would you like to know about what the Evanston Police Department is doing to fight crime? Let us know if you have specific questions or concerns about issues in your neighborhood. Submissions are always welcome at police@cityofevanston.org or by calling the community strategies bureau at (847) 866-5019.
If you’d like to receive Evanston’s Daily Crime Report by email, you can subscribe here or view the Monthly Crime Statistics that are reported on a yearly basis to the FBI by clicking here.
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 The Spring 2016 12-week Citizen Police Academy class will be starting this March. If you would like to learn more about the Evanston Police Department, take an active role in Community Oriented Policing and join the ranks of over 900 graduates since 1995, please visit the Citizen Police Academy webpage and enroll now for the March 2, 2016 class.
There is no cost to anyone who lives or works in Evanston. Getting to know your police force is essential in reducing crime, building trust in the community and serving the needs of the community.
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The
weekly deployment report is an informational bulletin prepared by a community
member that keeps citizens informed about what police do on a weekly basis.
Information contained in this report is not to be considered as a media/press
release. Any information considered by a media source from this bulletin needs
to be verified by an official from the department. This can be done by
contacting the media line at 847-866-5026.
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