Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

Weekly Deployment Meeting Highlights

In the Squad Room - Cops and Jobbers

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. 

836 job-seeking teens lined up at ETHS last Saturday morning in pursuit of summer jobs, breaking all records for past attendance.  1000 positions for summer and year-round employment were offered by 41 local employers, the Evanston Police Department among them.   EPD officers were on hand to assist the well mannered, appropriately dressed teens – many with freshly drafted resumes in hand.  Good luck to all the candidates (including my 17 year-old who forgot to mention to the EPD that she’d attended the Youth Citizen Police Academy). 

New faces at this week’s meeting included a visit from the Director of Public Safety at Northshore University Health System (Evanston Hospital to us) and Detective Tortorello who replaces Detective Mike Endre, recently promoted to Sergeant.  One look at few icons on the crime map below supports Crime Analyst Marianne Ring’s assertion that it was a slow week for crime – two vehicle break-ins, and two attempted residential burglaries.

 Now the rest of the news.  

Deployment Meeting – March 15, 2017

Past Week:

• On 3/11, three subjects in a stolen 2007 Chevy were stopped by police near Emerson and McDaniel.  Two of the passengers were juveniles.  Diante Speed, 18, was charged with Criminal Trespass to Vehicle.
• Burglars failed to gain entry to two residences – one in the 1800 block of Ashland on 3/12 and the other in the 1900 block of Wesley on 3/10.  In both cases, the crook or crooks attempted to either slash or remove window screens.
• Aaron Palmer was arrested on 3/14 for stealing packages from the common area of a building in the 700 block of Washington.
• Police have determined that the cause of a rollover crash on 3/11 near Green Bay and McCormick was caused when the driver fell asleep.
• On 3/13, workers found a WWI stick grenade in the floorboards of a home being renovated in the 2100 block of Orrington. The Bomb Squad was called to remove the grenade that was later determined to be inert.
• They were there:  PST officers read stories to kids at the Child Care Center of Evanston, met with NU cops and attended the 2nd Ward meeting at District 65 on 3/9. They assisted young hopefuls at the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Fair on 3/11 and attended the 8th Ward meeting at the Levy Center on 3/14.
• This week’s Text-a-Tip was a follow-up to an earlier tip about a reckless driver texted in June.  This time, the tipster encountered the same allegedly dangerous motorist and was able to provide the EPD with a cell phone photo of his license plate.
• Pinch. Caper. Heist. Collar. These are words actually heard at the deployment meeting. 
• Pickpockets may be watching for distracted shoppers on their cell phones.  A victim reported being relieved of her wallet at a big box store in the 2300 block of Oakton.

Looking Ahead:·   

• Drink responsibly or not at all. This from the Traffic Bureau: “We’ll be on patrol this St. Patrick’s Day, so make sure you obey the law. Don’t drink and drive, and don’t let your friends do it either. Help us make Zero Fatalities a reality in Illinois.”  They’ll be on the lookout from Friday through Sunday.
• While there have been no incidents involving hate crimes in Evanston over the last few months, Deputy Chief Pickett reminded the group that additional patrols should be deployed at area Jewish synagogues and community centers.
• It’s finals week followed by spring break (3/18-26) for NU students.
• The City of Evanston, Evanston Police Department, and Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association invite community members to attend "Coffee with a Cop" on Friday, 3/24, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., at Ten Thousand Villages-Evanston, located at 719 Main Street.    You’ll have an opportunity to join Evanston Police Officers along with members of the Problem Solving Team for a chat over a free cup of Fair Trade coffee.

Inquiring Minds: What’s up with all the speed trackers?  I have noticed more and more signs that indicate your speed and flash when you are going over the speed limit.  Is there more speeding going on in Evanston?  Do they put the signs up to catch people for speeding? Do they really do anything or are the signs there to get people to slow down?  The lightning-fast answer came from Sergeant Scott Sophier: “The 20 new speed signs were awarded to the City of Evanston as part of a Safe Route to School grant.  They have been deployed in and around various school zones in the city.  The signs are utilized for traffic 'calming' and also as a deterrent to speeding near our schools.  This does not necessarily mean there is more speeding going on in the city.  However, speed can many times be considered a contributing factor to crashes and with increased speed comes the opportunity for increased injury rates during collisions.  In addition to the speed signs, police officers also conduct speed enforcement in many of the same areas.  While police officers can and do issue speeding citations, the cameras do not.”

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.

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.

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 Fall 2017 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.

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.