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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.
In the Squad Room - Hot Town, Summer in the City
Deployment Meeting – Thursday, July 10, 2014
If
only the sounds heard last week were the sounds of jackhammers and not of
gunfire. In addition to the almost daily reports of shots fired, there were two
shootings during this deployment period. Some residents may have launched their
summer vacation plans, but crime didn’t exactly take a holiday. The Major
Incidents & Accidents Crime Map was, once again, covered with Shots Fired,
Man with a Gun, and Armed Robbery icons, many of them concentrated in Beat 77.
A
surprising number of incidents, some of them retaliatory, were linked in a
mind-numbing web of family, neighborhood and gang affiliations. Of the dozen or more events discussed at the
beginning of the meeting – before individual Watch Commanders made their
reports – many were either loosely or directly related. They were not random in the ‘stranger-danger’
realm that strikes terror into the hearts of law-abiding citizens.
One
other thing. Bicycles stolen from garages.
Over nine of them this week.
Prior to This Week
- On 7/2, members of the EPD executed a search warrant for weapons on the
600 block of Grove Street. Police
recovered three handguns and two rifles along with rounds of ammo and other
firearms-related items and equipment. Jordan Zoot was charged with a Class 3
Felony.
- Traffic reported the following results, among others, during the “Drive
Sober or Get Pulled Over/Click It or Ticket” enforcement: 77 seat belt
violations, 16 cell phone violations, 4 suspended license violations, 4
speeding tickets and 1 citation for transportation of open alcohol in a vehicle.
- Police were present at the annual Haitian Music Festival on 7/4 in
James Park. No incidents were reported.
- On 7/5, a victim was robbed at gunpoint on the 100 block of Chicago
Avenue.
- On 7/7 at 7:15 PM, an individual was shot on the 1700 block of Payne
Street. In what may be a related
incident, a male was shot the next day at 12:55 PM on the 2000 block of Dodge
Avenue. Both victims were taken area
hospitals with non-life threatening injuries. Victims were not cooperative with
police. Gang activity is suspected.
- On 7/9, EPD officers recovered a loaded weapon from one of the
vehicle’s passengers, Gary L. Spearman, 19, of Evanston. Spearman has been charged with a Class 4 Felony.
- Thieves made off with nine bikes during this period – most of these
from residential neighborhoods. Several were removed from unlocked
garages. In other garage burglaries
occurring in Beats 71 and 72, tools were stolen. Garage burglaries are largely preventable
crimes. Lock your garage doors.
Looking Ahead
- EPD officers will increase their presence in area hot spots where recent
shootings have occurred – notably Beat 77, the Fifth Ward neighborhood.
- PST officers will continue to monitor activities at the
Fleetwood-Jourdain adult basketball games on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturday
throughout the summer.
- Ramadan ends on 7/30 this year. Additional forces will be deployed
during this period to keep area mosques and worshipers safe.
-
Traffic will be assisting on 7/12 for the Annual Evanston Recycling
Fair. Special traffic lanes will be set
up on the east side of Dodge Avenue in front of ETHS for drivers with
recyclables to drop off. Click here for details.
Inquiring Minds - Crime Dramas - Rental Cars
Like Pay Phones
Let’s talk about ‘getaway cars’. Turns out,
according to what I heard, that rental cars are often the rides of choice for
unlawful renters. Gang members in the
mood for trouble typically use them because the vehicles and plates are not known
to the police. Everyone knows that the
black Crown Victoria in your neighborhood is an unmarked car police car. But what about that Lincoln Navigator? To the cops, it looks like it belongs on any
street in town.
The recent shooting on 7/8 involved a rented car. Today, surveillance cameras make it possible
to identify vehicles whether or not victims are cooperating. Car rental companies are working more closely
with law enforcement. If a driver is
pulled over on a routine traffic stop and his or her name is not on the rental
agreement, a quick call to the car rental agency may initiate a tow. And trouble.
 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 residents’ 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 handled or brought to
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.
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 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.
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 If you’d like to learn more about the Evanston Police Department, take an active role in Community Oriented Policing and join the ranks of 800 graduates since 1995, please visit www.cityofevanston.org/cpa and plan ahead to enroll in the Fall 2014 class which starts at the end of August. There is no cost to anyone who lives or works in Evanston.
Apply Now for the Youth CPA, July 14 - 18, 2014
Application deadline: July 11 (TODAY)
The goal of the Youth CPA Program, ages 13 - 17, is to develop positive relationships between teens and law enforcement, while breaking down the barriers between them. (This is not a boot camp type of program.) The interactive curriculum includes a tour of police headquarters, CSI practices, an overview of SWAT operations, class experiments and exercises in self-defense, and an explanation of use-of-force decision-making. Students will also receive a jacket and diploma upon completion of the Academy. Class size is limited to 25 and applications are being taken now.
For more information or to request an application, call 847 859-7843 or email: lspells@cityofevanston.org
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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.
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