Saturday, April 27, 2024   |   View in browser

Weekly Deployment Meeting Highlights

In this post, a community member who sits in on the Evanston Police
Department’s weekly Deployment Meeting shares notes on the topics discussed and writes about public safety matters of interest to people who work or live in Evanston.

The Main Event

The Main Street Corridor

The Special Operations Group received multiple complaints of narcotics activity along the Main St. corridor (see photo above). Based on surveillance in the area and information from confidential informants, operation “Main Event” was initiated. SOG investigators conducted controlled narcotics purchases, deployed vehicle trackers, acquired phone records, and introduced an undercover police officer to mediate the complaint.

Numerous hours of surveillance were conducted at multiple locations in Evanston and Chicago on several targets. Last week, the operation was concluded. SOG detectives arrested four narcotics traffickers who were charged with 11 felonies and two misdemeanors. Charges are pending on the fourth subject.

Operation Main Event resulted in the seizure of $1200 in cash, four vehicles, an RV, seven ounces of cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, and fentanyl - along with two handguns and $1200 in cash. 

Details of incidents discussed at the Deployment Meeting follow.

Weekly Crime Map

Click to enlarge

Deployment Meeting – April 24, 2024 

Deployment Meeting – April 24, 2024

Catalytic Converter Theft

On 4/19, a vehicle owner reported that the catalytic converter of her Toyota Prius had been removed while parked in the 3200 block of Grant.

Graffiti

Graffiti on electrical boxes was seen in five locations, primarily in Beats 71 and 74. Police believe these were perpetrated by taggers.

Motor Vehicle Burglary

The trend in work truck burglaries continues:

• On 4/22, around 10:30 a.m., a Toyota Yaris pulled into an alley in the 600 block of Asbury, exited the vehicle, and took approximately $3500 worth of tools from the vehicle.
• On 4/17, during the morning hours, a Stihl saw was removed from a truck parked in the 1200 lock of Oakton.
• The same day, a caller reported that an unknown subject pulled up near his work truck in the 100 block of Dodge in a Chevy Malibu around 1:30 p.m. The individual approached the vehicle, observed the driver still in the truck, and fled. The caller indicated that he observed concrete saw in the Malibu.

There were seven additional vehicle break-ins, including five unlocked vehicles, reported last week:

• Unsecured vehicle on 4/23, a laptop and backpack in the 2400 block of Main.
• Unsecured vehicle on 4/22, in the 1100 block of Florence; unknown if anything was missing.
• Unsecured vehicle on 4/17, in the 2000 block of Washington; nothing taken.
• Unsecured vehicle on 4/17, in the 1600 block of South Blvd., it is unknown if anything is missing.
• Unsecured vehicle on 4/17, in the 2500 block of Prairie; tools taken.
• Forced entry on 4/17, in the 2000 block of Harrison; two electric drills.
• Forced entry on 4/16, in the 200 block of Hamilton; eyeglasses.

Motor Vehicle Theft

• A 2016 VW Jetta between 4/18 and 4/19 in the 1500 block of Pitner. The owner stated that the car’s keys had been taken in a residential burglary.
• A 2014 Kia Rio between 4/16 and 4/17 in the 2000 block of Foster.
• A 2014 Toyota Prius stolen between 4/10 and 4/20 from the 600 block of Main. It was discovered in the 700 block of Hartrey with apparent damage from having stuck an electrical pole.

Notable were six stolen vehicle recoveries, many of which were assisted by Flock license plate reader technology:

• On 4/23, Parking Enforcement located a Honda Accord stolen out of Skokie in the 1100 block of Dodge.
• On 4/21, a 2005 Honda Odyssey stolen out of Chicago was located in a parking lot in the 2400 block of Main. Surveillance cameras captured a suspect exiting the vehicle and leaving in a Jeep Grand Cherokee occupied by two other subjects.
• On 4/18, a 2012 Hyundai Sonata missing out of Des Plaines was located in the 400 block of Custer.
• On 4/18, a Toyota Corolla stolen out of Chicago was recovered in the 700 block of Grey.
• On 4/17, officers located a Chicago vehicle in the 600 block of Mulford. The 2016 Hyundai was found with a broken rear window, a peeled steering column, and a USB drive left in its ignition.
• On 4/17, a 2014 Hyundai reported stolen out of Chicago was located in the 600 block of Callan.

Person with a Gun

On 4/21 around 8:30 p.m., a caller reported that there were occupants of several vehicles pointing guns at passersby. According to the caller, the vehicles relocated to a parking lot in the 600 block of Howard. The area was checked and COE video reviewed; nothing was found.

Pickpocket

On 4/17 around 4:30 p.m., a victim reported that her wallet had been stolen at a grocery store in the 2400 block of Howard. Surveillance footage revealed a female removing the victim’s wallet from her shopping cart. In the wallet were the victim’s cell phone, house keys, and car keys.

There have been at least four pickpocket incidents at Evanston grocery stores in the past two months. It appears that older females are being targeted.

Shots Fired

There were five calls this week. Police at each scene were unable to locate evidence in the form of spent shells or bullet casings.

• On 4/22 near Asbury and Howard. A citizen reported hearing 10 shots around 3 p.m.
• On 4/21 around 9:30 p.m., in the 1300 block of Maple. A citizen reported hearing one shot fired.
• On 4/20 in the 500 block of Sheridan, around 6:30 a.m. Three gunshots were heard in the area.
• On 4/19 in the 900 block of Washington, one shot was heard at 3:30 a.m.
• On 4/18 in the 110 block of Dobson at 1:15 PM, 4-5 shots were heard.

Scooter Theft

NUPD reported continuing scooter thefts on campus. This week, Evanston had three, for a total of five stolen since the beginning of the month. All were reported on 4/22:

• Around 6:15 a.m., an unknown subject was seen exiting a garage in the 800 block of Lincoln. A resident reported that her Razor brand electric bike was gone.
• Between 3:00 and 3:30 p.m., a secured Nine Box Max G30LP scooter was stolen from a bike rack at the Main Library.
• Around 6:00 p.m., a HiBoy S2 scooter was reported missing from the 800 block of Church. Surveillance video may be available.

Unlawful Use of a Weapon

On 4/20 around midnight, officers observed numerous subjects smoking and drinking at the entrance of the Howard CTA Station where special patrols had been deployed. Officers advised the group to disperse, but they observed one man enter the CTA station with a red cup in his hand. A search was conducted. Officers discovered that the drink contained alcohol and that his cross-body bag contained several small bags of cannabis, a firearm, and suspected ecstasy tablets. The man received three felony counts.

Random Notes/Heads Up

Around 2:30 p.m. on 4/19, a group of 25 protested peacefully in support of a free Palestine. They wrote messages in chalk on the sidewalk and dispersed shortly thereafter.

The final spring religious holiday is Passover, which ends on 4/30. EPD Officers continue to direct special patrols to the city’s nine houses of worship, community centers and faith-based community centers.

Inquiring Minds:

What Happens to Stolen Bikes?

Here’s what Commander Glew had to say:

“Sometimes they’re selling them to crooked bike shops that are reselling high-end bikes. Other times, they’re sold to unsuspecting customers. And sometimes, they just need transportation to get from one place to another, and they dump the bike later.

We find bikes all over—in bike racks, in yards, in alleys. Sometimes in garage burglaries, an offender will steal a good bike and leave the beater he rode over on behind. In fact, most bicycle thieves ride off on the stolen bikes. Think about it – you can ride to Chicago in less than ten minutes. You’re over the border.

We recover a lot of bikes at the police department, and we hold those bikes until someone claims them. We used to have a bike auction, but now we use a service like www.propertyroom.com that auctions all of our recovered property.”

One particularly depressing study indicated that the owner of a new bike can expect to keep it for about 23 months before it’s stolen. According to the FBI, an average of 175,200 bikes are reported stolen in the United States every year—that’s one every three minutes. In fact, research suggests that the actual number of bikes stolen (rather than just reported stolen) in the US and Canada could be closer to 2 million.

When you apply Chicago economist Gary Becker’s economic model of criminal behavior that uses a cost-benefit, risk-reward curve, it’s kind of plain to see that the rewards of bicycle thefts far outweigh the potential risks, and that’s why they’re so prevalent. The risk of arrest is very low and in the event of an arrest, consequences in court a likely going to be minimal.

Where bicycles end up tends to depend on who is stealing them. Most are amateur thieves who don’t distinguish between a Huffy and a Trek. They’re opportunistic and will look for unsecured bikes that they can quickly convert into cash—generally at 5% (or less) than the bike’s estimated value. At the other end of the spectrum are professional thieves. They will case bike racks for high-end bikes that they can sell online or at crooked bike shops at close to market prices. No u-lock can defeat their cordless reciprocating saw or their bravado as they remove high-end bikes from downtown bike racks in broad daylight.

Here’s what the EPD wants you to know:

1. Secure your bike with multiple locks. Remove the seat or front wheel. Anything you can do to slow down or foil the thieves is a win.
2. Register your bike online. When the EPD recovers a bike, they’ll check to see if it’s registered by checking the serial number.
3. Report thefts. Many owners don’t bother to report any kind of petty theft. Really? How petty is $500 or more?
4. Make sure the EPD knows that your stolen bike has been registered.

So, do it. Start here. 

Got a question for Insider? Send them here and we’ll try to answer them in a future issue.

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.