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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.

Ten Overdoses Too Many

Here are the facts: There have been 10 reported overdoses in Evanston, seven of them opioid-related, since the beginning of the year. NARCAN (Naloxone) deployment saved most of these men and women. One person wasn’t so lucky.

Overdose deaths from opioids in the U.S. have more than tripled in the last ten years and cross all socio-economic, ethnic, and gender categorizations. No one and no group is immune. These days, everyone knows someone struggling with the disease of addiction.

Now, public health experts are warning that the presence of fentanyl in black tar heroin or fake black tar heroin may be contributing to overdose deaths. Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than heroin. 

News you can use: In the past ten days, three more overdoses with NARCAN deployment were added to the list. Victims were revived and safely transported to area hospitals. To make NARCAN available to the Evanston community, the City has installed five emergency overdose boxes positioned in easily accessible areas throughout the city. These boxes contain kits, each equipped with two doses of Naloxone nasal spray and instructions on proper administration. More information is right here.

EPD's Narcan program was featured on WGN. Click here to watch this superior and timely piece of journalism. 

On a brighter note, sometimes no news is Breaking News: there were no Shots Fired calls or Motor Vehicle Thefts during the period.

Details of incidents discussed at the Deployment Meeting follow.

Weekly Crime Map

Click to enlarge

Deployment Meeting – May 22, 2024 

Aggravated Battery - UPDATE

Shell casings from the location of a shooting in the 1900 block of Ashland on 5/8 matched to evidence found at four separate 2023 incidents in Waukegan and Zion.

Bicycle Theft

On 5/20 between 5:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., a Giant bike locked to a rack was stolen from a rec center in the 1600 block of Foster.

Commercial Burglary

During the overnight hours of 5/18 and 5/19, officers responded and found three offices in the 1200 block of Sherman breached. One was forced open by a pry tool, and a laptop was taken. The second was also forced open by a pry tool, but nothing was reported missing. Another had damage to the door consistent with a tool, but entry was not made. The third’s door was also pried open; photographic equipment was taken.

Criminal Trespass

Police responded to a fire alarm in a building on the 300 block of Howard on 5/30 around 10:30 p.m. and found evidence of what had been a squatter/drug use location. Officers were able to reset the alarm and secure the vacant property.

Disorderly Conduct/Hate Related Incident

On 5/14 and 5/16, a resident observed hate-filled documents left in the vestibule of her apartment building in the 1900 block of Maple. A Special Watch has been directed to the victim’s address.

Garage Burglary

Between 5/16 and 5/17, an orange BMC bike was removed from a garage in the 800 block of Milburn.

Motor Vehicle Burglary

The Crime Analyst noted that there have been 11 burglaries to work trucks over the past five weeks, with 6 in just the last week. Five of these were unlocked vehicles.

• In the morning hours of 5/17, a subject attempted to gain entry by breaking a side vent of a plumbing truck in the 400 block of Church.
• Around 2:40 PM on 5/17, a backpack was reported missing from an unlocked Chevy near Lee and Ridge. A backpack was reported missing.
• Between Noon and 12:15 PM on 5/16 in the 1200 block of Oak, power tools valued at $2000 were taken from a work vehicle. (That’s a 15-minute window in broad daylight.)
• On 5/16, between 10:25 a.m. and 12:05 p.m., the front driver side window was broken on a van parked in the 1800 block of Benson. Power tools were reported missing.
• A victim reported power tools valued at $2000 missing from his van parked in the 1800 block of Maple on 5/15. The front passenger window had been left partially open.
• Between 8:42 AM and 9:00 AM in the 2200 of Oakton on 5/15, a DeWalt saw was removed from a work van.

Package Theft

On 5/14, a package was taken from an address in the 1300 block of Greenwood.

Road Rage

From the Let It Go file: On 5/16, a road rage incident was observed via City POD cameras around 1:20 p.m. Evanston Communications dispatched units to the 100 block of Asbury while providing real-time updates to officers.

One motorist was lying on the sidewalk when officers arrived. Following a disagreement over the other driver's driving style, he admitted to officers that another driver had struck him in the face. The other driver returned to the scene and advised that the first man had exited his vehicle and struck the rear of his car with a cane, causing some damage. A physical altercation followed. Neither party wished to pursue the matter.

Robbery

On 5/17, around 2:00 a.m., a caller stated that he had been robbed by an unknown male, possibly carrying a weapon, wearing all black, and last seen on foot heading southbound from Austin and Custer. The victim said the man took his ID and an unknown amount of cash and did not wish to pursue the matter.

Random Notes/Heads Up

• Through the Memorial Day weekend, EPD is continuing enforcement efforts to remind motorists to “Click It or Ticket.” The effort, Commander Sophier says, is about “preserving lives. We want seat belt use to be second nature for all drivers and passengers.” So buckle up.
• Did you know: that an Order of Protection can be filed with the EPD’s Victim Services? There’s no need to visit a courthouse. If you or someone you know needs help, call 311 to reach an Advocate in Victim Services.
• SCAM ALERT: NUPD has reported a fraudster pretending to be either NUPD or EPD calling the parents of Northwestern University softball players, stating that their children were in custody and that sending money would keep their students’ names out of the news. This scam targeting families of college students has been increasing in frequency since last fall.
• This week, EPD has designated 29 locations for Special Watch patrols. 

Inquiring Minds): Is Panhandling Legal?

First of all, there’s a circa 2001detailed definition of the ordinance on the City’s website. It’s written in municipal code language, but here’s one attempt at a translation:

Panhandling is: verbally (this includes singing, by the way) asking for money or some other thing of value in a public place. The giver receives little or nothing in return.

It is unlawful when it happens at a café or bus stop, on public transportation, when the person being solicited is parked or stopped on a public street or alley. Ditto within 20’ of an ATM machine. In other words, if panhandlers avoid these circumstances and don’t panhandle aggressively (more about that in a second or two), it’s in compliance with ordinance.

Aggressive Panhandling is a violation of the conditions, along with other breaches of personal space. These include all kinds of behaviors: repeating the request, blocking someone’s path, following behind, alongside, or ahead, using abusive language, touching the person, or creating a situation in which the target feels harassed, intimidated, or forced to contribute.

Since Aggressive Panhandling can be a source of numerous calls for EPD, I asked Commander Glew to comment on the magnitude of the problem in the downtown area and what the Department is doing about it.

Here’s what he said: “The issue of panhandling, like any other issue, evolves and changes over time. The problems that the ordinance attempted to address back in 2001 are not the same as they were in 2024. Twenty-three years ago, it was simpler. The panhandlers wanted money and pushed the boundaries of the law to get it. 

Its more complicated today. Anti-panhandling ordinances are consistently being re-evaluated in relation to free speech. Also, there is an increase in mental health problems with today’s panhandler as compared to years ago, and when mental health plays a role, the boundaries set by an ordinance may not be effective in bringing about better behavior. 

Migrant panhandling does not appear to be a problem downtown but is seen in other areas of the City and the rest of the Northshore. There have not been many, if any at all, calls about migrants engaging in aggressive panhandling, but their non-aggressive panhandling has been the cause of calls. These calls are typically from citizens calling the police with the expectation that officers can initiate the process of providing social services. 

If there is a call, we start with the well-being of panhandler. Is it a matter of connecting with a necessary service such as EMS, or is it more of a police matter, and officers bring the source of the call into compliance? If a citation is warranted, it is enforceable by fine only; it’s a non-jailable offense, so there are limitations in how we handle the problem. In the future, some of these calls will be handled by Evanston’s C.A.R.E. alternative to 911 response program. The C.A.R.E. responders may be able to come up with a more long term solution for the source of the call.”

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.