Friday, September 4, 2020   |   View in browser

Weekly Deployment Meeting Highlights

Every week, Linda Hansen attends the Evanston Police Department’s Deployment Meetings, takes notes on the topics discussed and writes about other police-related matters of interest to the people who work and live in Evanston.

SCAMMERS CALLING

No, it's not the EPD on the line.

Fraudsters are at it again. This time, a resident reported a phone call from “Detective Jason Kohl” of the EPD who alerted the victim of an arrest warrant and the need to make an immediate $500 payment. The caller told the victim that the call would be transferred to "Lieutenant Daniel Russell" for payment processing. The resident, suspecting the real nature of the call, did not provide personal information, hung up and called the police. Here’s the thing: Caller ID, as is often the case, showed the EPD non-emergency police number (847/865-5000) and there is a Jason Kohl and Daniel Russell with the police department. 

Spoofing calls like this date back, according to the EPD’s 8/31 press release, to April 2019. Should you receive a similar call from the “Evanston Police Department”, ask for the caller’s name, hang up and contact the EPD for confirmation. The EPD does not ask for immediate payment by phone. Neither does the FBI. Ever.

Crime Analyst Ring reported firearm-related incidents during this deployment period, including an aggravated assault at James Park and an armed robbery in the 200 block of Dodge. There were two residential and five vehicle burglaries, all of them unsecured.  

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If there are topics of interest to you, please send them our way.

Deployment – September 2, 2020

• On 9/1 around 7 PM, patrol officers were called to the 500 block of Howard for a disturbance. Officers attempted to intercede when Nino Harris, became violent and attempted to fight them. Harris was taken into custody and charged with Assault. 
• Responding to a report of a fight in progress on 8/31 around 8 PM in the 1600 block of Foster, officers made contact with an injured male. He directed officers to the address of his assailant where they located Rikiva Zachary with what appeared to be a firearm. She was taken into custody and charged with Assault. A replica Glock 17 Airsoft gun was later found near the scene of her arrest in the 2100 block of Dewey.
• Four bikes were reported stolen, two of them from common areas in apartment/condo buildings. One was removed from an unlocked garage. Only one was secured.
• On 8/30/20 at 9:20 PM, Units responded to the 200 block of Dodge at 9:20 PM for an armed robbery. The victim reported that he was approached by two subjects as he parked his vehicle. One of the robbers emptied the victim’s pockets at gunpoint. Based on his description of the robbers’ Toyota Camry, EPD officers were able to apprehend Damari Leavell and Erick Sims, who were charged with multiple felonies, including Armed Robbery, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, and Armed Habitual Criminal. A Glock 26 9mm handgun was recovered from the Toyota.
• Three of the four vehicle break-ins to unlocked cars happened in northwest Evanston (Beat 75), on the 2100 block of Payne, the 2600 block of Central and the 2900 block of Central.
• Two residential break-ins were reported to the police. On 8/28, burglars kicked in a door at a residence in the 100 block of Clyde. On 8/26, crooks entered an apartment in the 700 block of Hinman through an unlocked door. Cash was reported stolen at both locations.
• Crime Analyst Ring noted two additional robberies during this deployment period:
• On 8/27 near Hull and Custer around 7:15 PM, when a US Census Enumerator’s bag was taken at gunpoint.
• On 8/25 at 10 PM in the 1700 block of Dodge. The victim was approached from behind by an unknown subject who demanded and received his property.
• Property damage and shell casings were observed following an 8/28 Shots Fired call at James Park. A group of people filming a music video were fired on by another group. No injuries were reported.
• First the parking garage, and now this: NUPD has reported an increase in young people engaging in dangerous behavior on their campus. An Instagram video of daredevils sliding down the roof of the Walter Athletic Center has been viewed 100,000 times. Three juveniles were identified and given C-tickets (for city ordinance violations).
• Lost and found: Four out of Wilmette’s five most recent stolen cars have been recovered in Evanston.
• There was one arrest for domestic battery last week. 

The Week Ahead

• IDOT’s Labor Day “Click it or Ticket” traffic campaign runs through 9/7.

Inquiring Minds: Does the Evanston Police Department Use "10 Codes"?

It's widely accepted that 10 Codes originated during the 1920s or 1930s, as police were beginning to use radios for communications. The need to keep radio traffic brief was recognized early on, and a numerical code was established. By most accounts, Charles Hopper, a communications director with the Illinois State Police, gets the nod for establishing what we now know as 10 Codes. (Think of the one that we all know -  “10-4”.)

In radio transmissions of the era, the first syllable or so of a conversation was often cut off. Officers were taught to pause a second between keying the mic and speaking, but adding "ten" before the numeric code helped to ensure that the message was delivered.

Fast forward almost 100 years. In light of the communications issues that surfaced during the 9/11 terrorist attacks and subsequent broadscale disasters, there was a move to use plain English in police radio communications. The idea was that since 10 Codes can vary from agency to agency, the use of plain language made more sense.

Even so, the purpose of police jargon and codes is still to keep communications clear and concise. For one thing, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) requires transmissions to be short to save bandwidth and keep the airwaves open. More critically, police codes serve an officer safety function. Whether on a traffic stop, at a domestic violence call or patrolling a neighborhood, an officer's primary focus has to be on the task at hand and the subject or subjects they’re dealing with.

Commander Ryan Glew told me “Agencies that operate relatively independently can be more casual and rely more on plain English. The EPD only uses about 24 codes and some are modified or different from other jurisdictions. Since we’re in the orbit of the Chicago Police Department, some of the modifications we made are to be consistent with them. That’s the case with 10-1 (below).”

Next on my call list was Officer Amanda Fernandez, who joined the EPD a year ago. Since 10 Codes aren’t the norm in law enforcement agencies, I wanted to know if they’re even discussed in the police academy and what training she received for the codes that are used here. She said the subject is only touched on at the Cook County Police Academy where she received her initial training. “They stressed that we should know them since they’re used by Cook County Sheriffs, but we didn’t practice them as much as I would have liked.” As for how she learned the 24 in use here, she said “My first field training officer gave me a little notebook that has helpful reference information – ordinance violations and things like that. Toward the back, there’s a list of all the 10-codes. We went through and highlighted the ones that are used here.”

How to Talk Like a Cop: Evanston’s 10-Codes (Commentary by Commander Glew)

• 10-1 Send Help “For most agencies, this means unable to copy please change your location. In the Chicagoland area, it means ‘Send the calvary, I am in trouble or danger.’ Why 10-1? It’s easy to remember and say on the radio when an officer has to transmit under the stress of imminent danger.”
• 10-2 Signal good
• 10-4 Acknowledgement (OK)
• 10-6 Busy -- stand by unless urgent
• 10-7 Out of service
• 10-8 In service
• 10-9 Repeat
• 10-19 Return to ...
• 10-20 Location
• 10-21 Call ... by telephone
• 10-22 Disregard
• 10-27 Driver’s license information
• 10-28 Vehicle registration information
• 10-29 Check for wanted
• 10-41 Beginning tour of duty
• 10-42 Ending tour of duty
• 10-50 Accident (“fatal, personal injury, property damage”)
• 10-51 “is a wrecker. That’s what all of Illinois – except for the Chicagoland area - calls a tow truck. This is an EPD request for a tow truck be dispatched by the call sign of 551.”
• 10-55 Suspected DUI
• 10-76 En route

Thanks to this week’s contributors: Officer Amanda Fernandez, Commander Ryan Glew and Crime Analyst Marianne Ring

Gun Buyback Program

The Ongoing 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.

Property Recovered in Evanston

Think your property may have been recovered by the Evanston PD? Click here to start your search. Be sure to check out the third party service that displays items found within the last 21 days. Here's the link.

Subscribe to Evanston’s Daily Crime Report by email or view the Monthly Crime Statistics that are reported on a yearly basis to the FBI. Take a look at the Evanston Police Department Dashboard.

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 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.