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Weekly Deployment Meeting Highlights

In the Squad Room - Discord Leads to Arson

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. 

Around 9:45 PM on Saturday, 4/7, firefighters were called to a fire on the 1900 block of Wesley.  A coach house on the property was ablaze. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire quickly, but not before it caused about $2,000 in damage. Fortunately, the individual residing there wasn’t home and no one was injured.  Just three hours later, evidence at the scene led investigators to Evanston resident Jahnell Horton, the tenant’s girlfriend.  She was charged with felony arson for making good on her promise earlier that evening to cause him trouble.  She is in custody at Cook County Jail on a $100,000 bond with a separate $50,000 bond for a prior retail theft. 

It was another quiet week for crime in Evanston.  There were just 16 criminal incidents listed on the meeting handout – the most notable were three residential burglaries, four motor vehicle burglaries and one car theft.  Details follow. 

Now the rest of the news.  

Deployment Meeting – April 11, 2018

Past Week:

• A rollover accident on Ridge and Grove around on 4/11 involving a taxicab and a truck closed the street to traffic for an hour but, surprisingly, did not result in any serious injuries.
• Special Operations warned Commanders about the dangers of Fentanyl –increasingly found in heroin and cocaine seizures during searches.  Accidentally inhaling pure Fentanyl, which can be 100 times more potent than morphine, is deadly.
• On 4/10, a 2013 VW was stolen off the street in the 2100 block of Ewing.  It was later tied to motor vehicles burglaries in Wilmette.
• The driver of a Lexus pulled up to another vehicle near Simpson and Dodge around 10 PM on 4/8 and pointed a weapon at the driver.
• Online training continues for all sworn EPD officers.  All have to completed extensive monthly Police Law Institute (PLI) and Lexipol (policy management) training.
• Between 4/5 and 4/10, burglars forced their way into residences in the 2600 block of Sheridan, the 700 block of Ridge and the 100 block of Keeney. Jewelry was taken in two of the break-ins.
• In search of prescription drugs: On 4/5, an offender sought and found them in a guest’s room at an inn on the 1500 block of Oak.
• PST officers were there: The Law and Your Community training at Family Focus, a Citizen Police Academy session, a Youth Empowerment seminar at the Levy Center, a Senior Meeting at Fleetwood, the West End Block Club meeting and a burglary prevention session at a Main Mile event.  They also attended an Art Show at Curts Café South and a EAP planning meeting with the Music Institute staff.  No ward meetings last week.
• How quiet was last week?  So quiet that there wasn’t a single Text-a-Tip. 

Looking Ahead:·

• A bulletin was sent out on 4/10 announcing a “Drop It and Drive” crackdown on distracted driving that will run from 4/16-4/30. April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month so expect additional patrols and enforcement zones. The EPD wants you to know that if you’re driving with a cell phone in one hand, you can expect a ticket in the other.
• Plans are in the works for July 4th with 2018 offering (maybe) something new. What that is wasn’t revealed but the EPD is meeting with the Fourth of July Association.  
• On the calendar for the Problem Solving Team: Dealing with the continuing homeless and downtown panhandling issues as well as scofflaw dog parents at the lakefront during the morning hours.  They’ll also attend the 2nd Ward meeting and read to kids at the Childcare Center of Evanston. 

On 4/12, the EPD issued a press release on the ‘Axon Citizen’ component to the Department’s Body Worn Camera Program. If an officer or detective learns that you have valuable media (video, audio or still images) that can assist in an investigation, you will be invited – by text or email - to upload it to their Evidence.com account.  If you think you have something of value, notify the EPD and the person in charge will contact you.  Expanding the documentation of events to community members is one way the EPD is extending the reach of the BWC program and meeting its transparency goals. 

Inquiring Minds How many people work in the 9-1-1 Communications Center? What qualifications are required for the job?  For the second week running, the answer comes from Perry Polinksi, who is the City’s 9-1-1 Communications Center Coordinator.  I had a few more questions, too. Question:  How many telecommunicators work in the Center? Answer:   There are 16 full time telecommunicators (TCs) Question:  What kind of training is required? Answer:   Candidates need to have a high school diploma or GED and at least 30 college credits or similar experience and training within a law enforcement agency. Newly hired TCs must complete a comprehensive 12-week in-house on-the-job training program. Question: The Center never closes. So how many hours do communicators work and what are the shifts like? Answer:   They work 12-hour shifts from 7 to 7, either AM to PM on days or PM to AM on nights. There are 2 teams of 4 TCs each per shift. (The shift minimum is 3 telecommunicators.) They work the following pattern: • Work M-T • Off W-Th • Work F-S-S • Off M-T • Work W-Th • Off F-S-S Question: What’s the most typical call? Answer:   Quality of life type calls - noise complaints, parking complaints, and disturbances. Question  What are most memorable?   Answer:   In general, calls where a TC’s skills and training influenced a positive outcome, for instance, saving a life, apprehending a criminal, or minimizing loss/damage of property. Question: What makes a good TC? Answer:   The ability to multi-task, for example, to talk on the phone, monitor the radio and type into the computer system all at the same time. Also, given the schedule they work and the type of calls that they handle – resilience (with some calls, there is no closure). Question:  How many calls did the Center handle in 2017? Answer:    The 9-1-1 Communications Center dispatched 69,976 law enforcement, 6,456 EMS (emergency medical service), and 3,602 fire calls. Question:  What about texts and Text-a-Tips? Answer:    In 2015, we were the first municipality on the north shore and the 4th in Illinois to implement a Text-to-9-1-1 program. The Communications Center received 241 Text-a-Tips and 61 Text-to-9-1-1s last year.

Please keep your questions coming.  Send them to Commander Ryan Glew 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..   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.