In the Squad Room - Catalytic Converter Thefts
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.
Officers Brooks and Howard welcome Jennifer’s Edibles to 1623 Simpson
Three catalytic converters were stolen last week in the 1100 block of Darrow, the 1100 block of Ashland and the 1700 block of Dempster. Apparently catalytic converter's which are a part of a vehicle's exhaust system contain several metals, including copper, that are worth money at the scrap yard. Thieves like to steal them because they are easy to remove (just cut them out with a battery operated sawzall) as well as their lack of identifying information.
The most notable incident covered during the meeting was the
attempted abduction of a 16 year old girl who was approached by a middle-aged
white male in the 1500 block of Howard at 9:45 PM on 1/5. He attempted to cover her face with a rag
but she was able to flee to a relative’s home in Rogers Park. EPD Juvenile
Detectives are investigating.
According to Sergeant Tracy Williams, one of the week’s two
DUI arrests involved Bellwood resident Timothy Hester who was also charged with
leaving the scene of an accident and possession of 13 grams of heroin. On 1/7, he hit a car traveling southbound on
Ridge near Davis. Cops caught up with
him in the 1000 block of Ridge Court.
The victim in the hit-and-run was taken to Evanston Hospital and
released.
Now the rest of the news.
Deployment Meeting – January 10, 2017
Past Week:
- EPD officers recovered a 2015 BMW that was brazenly stolen from a second-floor car dealership showroom in
the 1000 block of Chicago on New Years Day.
- They were there: On 1/4, PST
officers attended a Foster Senior Club meeting at Fleetwood and did a CLEAR
presentation at the Faith Temple Church of God.
They monitored the ETHS Boys Basketball game on 1/6 and continued to
monitor Howard Street and the downtown area for homeless complaints. PST Officers
Daley and Jenkins resumed The Law and Your Community session at Family Focus.
- School, as we know, is back in session. Word to the wise: observe
traffic laws in school zones. Cops will be patrolling.
- Several televisions and jewelry were stolen from a residence in the 1600
block of Greenwood on 1/5. Burglars
entered through an unlocked bedroom window. One TV was located in the backyard
of the residence.
- A service station in the 2900 block of Central was burglarized between
1/6 and 1/7. Lottery tickets, cash and
change were stolen. Crooks gained entry
by breaking a garage bay window.
- There were three text-a-tips during the period. The first involved concern for a depressed
co-worker, the second was a report of a suspicious person and the third was a
tip about seeing a person that had a warrant for their arrest.
Looking Ahead:·
- The Armored Car is charged up and will be on duty near Foster and
Darrow.
- Traffic and Patrol officers will be out monitoring school zones and crosswalks
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Inquiring Minds: OK,
I’ll admit it. I asked this question.
For
one thing, in my visits to EPD headquarters, I didn’t remember seeing one and
for another, I’d once (actually my car) had an encounter with what the Chicago
Police Department described as a “squadrol”, a term I hadn’t heard before or
since. In The Joint is Jumpin’, Fats
Waller says, “We’re all bums when the wagon comes” which also made me think
about the not-politically-correct term I grew up with: the paddy wagon. So here it is:
Does the Evanston Police
Department have a police van?
Yes. In fact, the EPD used to have two of them,
according to Commander Joe Dugan, but it’s down to one now, a late-model Ford (pictured) that
can be found parked on the street or in the EPD’s sally port.
Commander
Dugan told me that it’s used mostly to transport prisoners from headquarters to
Court, because like the armored truck, it is too big to drive around for routine patrol. It is used for larger events and days such as Halloween and the 4th of July. Including anything from large parties to street festivals and Dillo Days. Then, of course, there’s the practicality of
being able to transport a group of people without tying up multiple squad cars
and officers in a situation where there are multiple arrests. Occupants can be separated in one of two
sections. They are handcuffed and safely
secured in place.
From
what I’ve been able to determine, police van, police truck and squadrol mean
the same thing and they’re used interchangeably here. As for the origin of the
term ‘paddy wagon’, not all the theories point to the ethnicity of 19th
century New York policemen or the occupants of the vehicles. The one I prefer suggests that it was slang
for patrol wagon or patty wagon. In parts of Europe, including the U.K., these
vehicles are called Black Marias, a name that also dates back to the 19th
century.
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 Throwback pic of the week: Deputy Chief Parrott and Sgt. Tracy Williams at the 1994 Illinois Police Memorial in Springfield.
Please keep your questions coming. Send them to Commander Joe Dugan 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.
 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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Applications are being accepted for the Spring 13-week Citizen Police Academy. 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 Spring class which will take place Wednesday nights from March 1 through May 24th.
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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