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

Weekly Deployment Meeting Highlights

In the Squad Room - More Animal Stories

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. 

Before we get to this week’s top story – once again, the result of a week pretty light on assaults, break-ins and thefts – let’s applaud the OGA members and mentors pictured above for braving human flight at an indoor skydiving venue on 4/15.  All 10 adventurers reported a happy landing.  OGA is a joint venture between the Evanston Police Department and District 65. 

Now to the breaking news.  Apparently, a growing number of lakefront dog walkers are thumbing their noses at a city ordinance here by letting their canine companions run free.  If that’s not bad enough, scofflaws approached by Animal Warden Rose (one of the nicest people in the world who loves animals and has never, not once, been bitten by any in his 11 years of service) completely ignore him.  Like he isn’t even there. Like teenagers. Here’s news: He’s got back up. Rose and EPD officers issued 8 ‘off the leash’ citations and they’ll be handing out more.   This is not negotiable. It’s a safety issue. And here in Evanston, it’s the law.

Now the rest of the news.  

Deployment Meeting – April 19, 2017

Past Week:

• There were four Shots Fired reports on 4/15.   Police were called to Foster and Grey, the 2400 block of Bradley, and Howard and Custer.  Nothing was recovered in any of these locations.  On 4/16, witnesses reported shots fired from a white Chrysler in the 1800 block of Madison. Cops found three 9mm bullet casings in the area.
• Extra patrols were requested at a church in the 1300 block of Ridge after a report of a suspicious person loitering on the premises. 
• Police got two handguns off the street in two separate traffic stop incidents on 4/14.  A seat belt violation in the 2400 block of Oakton resulted in a vehicle search that revealed a backseat passenger in possession of a Jennings-Bryco .380 caliber handgun. Skokie resident Virgil Houston was charged.   Later on that day, cops stopped a car with a burned-out headlamp near Lyons and Darrow. Passenger and Palatine resident Kevin Logan fled the vehicle and tossed a loaded .380 caliber Ruger as police gave chase.  He was taken into custody and charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor.
• On 4/17 a burglar entered a home in the 2700 block of Bennett through an unlocked basement window, setting off the alarm system.  The resident heard the crook walking around in the basement, followed by the sound of a car leaving a short time later.  A gaming console was taken.
• ‘Tis the season: there were six bicycle thefts, four of them in downtown Evanston. Two of the bikes were stolen from storage areas, one was stolen from a garage, two were secured and stolen from bike racks and one was left unlocked in front of a downtown grocery store.
• A heroin bust on 4/18 resulted in the arrest of Evanston resident Robert Crayton.  80 grams of heroin were seized in the culmination of a long term investigation.  He was charged with five counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance.  Chief Eddington applauded the efforts of the Special Operations Group for their successful efforts in getting heroin off Evanston streets. Heroin overdoses and deaths, the result of cheap and available product, have steadily risen with the increase in opioid painkiller addiction.
• In addition to the iFly event on 4/15, PST officers assisted patrol at a protest event in the 900 block of Maple and attended the Grandparents Resource Fair at the Levy Center on 4/18, and conducted a role play exercise for members of Leadership Evanston on 4/19.
• Communications Coordinator Curt Kuempel reported three text-a-Tips during the period, including two drug tips and a report of underage drinking.
• The Armored Car, fond of warmer weather, is back on the street, this week in the 2100 block of Darrow. 

Looking Ahead:·   

• PST officers will be reading to tots at the Child Care Center of Evanston and attending the Fifth Ward Meeting on 4/20.  They’ll also be at Alderman Holmes’ retirement party on 4/21 and at Fleetwood for a STEM Fest on 4/22. They will continue to focus on homeless complaints in the downtown area and along Howard Street.
• Reminder: They may have issued 7 warnings last week, but tickets will be issued for bicycle enforcement.  This means following the rules of the road and staying off sidewalks in the downtown area.  And the leash law? Well, enough said there. You’ve been warned

Inquiring Minds: Here is a timely question:                              “If we see illegal activity in a Facebook live video (or any other kind of live social media post) - what should we do and what kind of information would it be good to give you when reporting something? Meaning - is it a 911 call? What if it isn't local?”  This is a really interesting question.  What Reader A.H. is referring to here includes what criminologists sometimes call “performance crime”. We saw evidence of this in Cleveland last Sunday.  Our celebrity culture (where anyone can be famous for being either famous or infamous) has produced offenders who post pre-crime confessions, videos of themselves committing offenses, and post-crime footage holding evidence or bragging about their criminal acts on social media.  It isn’t uncommon for local gangs right here at home to claim responsibility for crimes they didn’t even commit to bolster their street cred. In the process, some of these would-be reality stars end up generating evidence used for their capture and conviction.  One recent example was the EPD arrest of a convicted felon who was live streaming target practice with a semi-automatic weapon at a shooting range.   Cops arrived on the scene before his session was over.  But what should you do if you see something? The answer comes from Commander Joe Dugan. Take note of who originated the content and where you saw it (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, etc). Attempt to capture the content if you can.  Take screenshots, a photo or a video to save it.   Contact your local police department.  Anything life threatening and in progress such as an assault or a shooting merits a 911 call. An individual or group flashing drugs or a weapon in a post, photo or video is a non-emergency call. When in doubt, call either 911 or the non-emergency phone number. The police department will be in the best position to make that determination.

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.