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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 - Lost & Found
Like most of you, I look at
the Daily Crime Report almost every day.
But until I walk into the Deployment Meeting and look at the Crime
Analyst’s Major Incident & Accidents map, I don’t really have a sense of
the scale or the magnitude of the week’s events. This week, I was relieved (as a resident) to
see fewer icons than last week. On the
other hand, it made this report a little less interesting – you know, a boring
week. What it really means is that the
EPD is probably doing a pretty good job.
Themes for the week: bicycle thefts
and garage burglaries with bikes taken.
Deployment Meeting – Thursday, July 17, 2014
Prior to This Week
- Once again, there was a rash of bicycle thefts – 11 in all - during the
deployment period. Four were secured at
CTA stations and the rest were stolen when thieves entered by force or through
unlocked garage doors.
- In contrast to last week’s shootings, potential gun violence centered
around four Shots Fired calls in Beats 72, 73 and 77. In each case – on the 1200 block of Sherman
on 7/12, the 1800 block of Ashland on 7/13, the 500 block of Sheridan on 7/15
and the 1900 block of Emerson on 7/16, police were called to the scene, checked
the area and found nothing. On 7/16,
police responded to a report of a Man with a Gun on the 1900 block of Jackson.
Again, no one was found and no weapons were recovered.
- Here’s good news: On 7/16, Commander Parrott issued a press release
seeking the assistance of citizens in locating a missing 68-year old Evanston
resident. It was reported at the Meeting
that the gentleman was found in Morton Grove and returned safely to his home the
next day or the same day.
- Detectives reported that two incidents of gang related violence took
place in Chicago. Just across Howard
Street last week, a shooter fired at a person and struck an innocent victim
standing at a Rogers Park bus stop, killing photographer Wil Lewis. On 7/16, shots were fired in a shooting on
Farwell and Greenleaf, seriously injuring two victims.
- On that front, things were quieter in Evanston last week
- Pickpockets and funny money: Wilmette
police warned EPD to watch out for both.
Apparently, pickpockets slide gracefully through places like Panera and
Whole Foods victimizing the unsuspecting. And look out: there are some counterfeit 50s
in circulation. Beware of anyone who
wants to make a purchase from you (a car for instance) all in fifty-dollar bills.
- An individual was stabbed on the 300 block of Howard on 7/15. The victim was treated for minor wounds at
St. Francis Presence Hospital and was released.
A suspect has been identified and police are investigating.
- Thanks to the support of the PST team & traffic bureau, the YMCA Youth
Triathlon, the Food Truck event at
Brummel Park and the Recycling Fair at ETHS all went off without a single
incident.
Looking Ahead
- The Youth Citizen Police Academy will end it third annual summer
session on Friday, 7/18 This season’s
class, led by PST Officer Spells and assisted by a roster of presenters from
within EPD and the criminal justice system, attracted 20 youthful recruits. The high point (at this writing) according
to one attendee well known to this reporter was Crime Scene Analysis. Just wait until they meet Rony the Police Dog
and Officer Sosa on the last day of class.
- School’s out for summer: Summer school ends at ETHS on 7/23. The new
school year begins for most Evanston public school students on 8/23.
- Tired of complaints from downtown pedestrians and concerned for your
safety, expect citations (soon to be $25 each) for not obeying bicycle laws –
especially riding on sidewalks downtown.
- Forensic news: In an effort to speed the results of lab studies in
criminal investigations, EPD will begin using the services of the Northeastern
Illinois Regional Crime Lab beginning in September. The move was approved by the City Council. Nine
of the 13 NORTAF (Northern Regional Major Crimes Task Force) members are using
this for-profit resource. The State’s
crime lab can take up to 24 months to provide DNA results.
Inquiring Minds - A reader asks, “What
happens to stolen bikes?”
 Thank you for asking. Here’s what Commander Parrott told me:
“Sometimes they’re selling them to crooked bike shops that are reselling higher-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. A lot of them end up in Chicago for obvious reasons.
We recover a lot of bikes at the police department and we hold those bikes for a specified period allowing time for return to the owner. We used to have a bike auction but for logistical purposes we now use a service www.propertyroom.com that sells all of our recovered property in which an owner cannot be located.
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.”
Here’s some information from a little research I did:
The FBI says that over 1.5 million bikes are stolen every year and according to just about everyone who knows, thefts are expected to rise between 7-10% this year. 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.
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. In the world of street crime, bikes are currency – just like sex, drugs, weapons and cash. Bicycle thieves are rarely apprehended, though we’ve had recent notable arrests here, and unless thieves are operating in well-organized crews, it’s basically a petty crime that if successfully prosecuted, will result in something like probation. In the continuum of criminal offenses, bicycle thefts and homicide are at polar ends.
But getting back to our reader’s question, where bicycles end up tend to depend on who is stealing them. Most are amateur thieves, likely down on their luck and/or addicted, who don’t distinguish between a Huffy and a Cannondale. They’re opportunistic and will look for unsecured bikes that they can quickly convert into cash – generally at 5% (or less) that the bike’s estimate value. That vintage 1978 Schwinn Collegiate you love to ride to the Farmers Market will probably fetch about four bucks and it will probably be fenced somewhere in Chicago because the thief rode it there. At the other end of the spectrum are professional thieves, like the two who were arrested by the EPD in June. 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 at high noon. In seconds.
The
take-away. Here’s what Commander Parrott
and the EPD want you to know:
1. Register your bike online.
When the EPD recovers a bike, they’ll check to see if it’s registered by
checking the serial number.
2. Report thefts, it greatly
increases the chance of getting your property back.
3. Make sure the EPD knows that
your stolen bike has been registered by telling the officer when making the
report.
So,
do it. Here’s the URL and you can be pretty certain
I’ll be registering our five – count them - five bikes over the weekend: http://www.cityofevanston.org/police/bicycle-registration/
 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.
The Youth Citizens Police Academy program for ages 13-17 graduates this evening at the Fire Department training room located at 909 Lake St. Our congratulations goes out to these students for participating in this valuable experience.
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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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