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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 - Guns 'n Dishwashing Gloves
A
certain reverence was perceptible at this week’s Deployment Meeting. There’s a predictable joking camaraderie in
the Squad Room before Chief Eddington enters the room. Then it gets quiet. But this week, there was a stranger in the
house known to everyone, apparently, but me.
It
was City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz, there to share the accolades he’d heard in
meetings with Evanston’s faith community, a group generally eager to share the
frequent brickbats and rare bouquets directed at the EPD by their congregants. This time, the group was witnessing to the
effectiveness of the department’s community policing policies. The City Manager was there to share the good
news.
Deployment Meeting – Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Prior to This Week
- Caught pink-handed: Devin A. Strong, 36, was arrested on 7/18 following
an attempt to rob an Evanston barber shop on the 1600 block of Emerson. He was apprehended by the EPD while changing
clothes on the 1400 block of Church Street after barber shop staff provided a
description of the offender. That
description included a pink dishwashing glove.
It was found on Strong’s person, along with a .40 caliber a semi-automatic
handgun and a face mask.
- On 7/18, police arrested Mario Banks, 20, who allegedly threatened a
female with a gun at 2:57PM. No weapon
was found and he was charged with disorderly conduct.
- Commander Parrott sent a press release on 7/18 about the arrest of
Steve L. Hamann on 7/17. In a routine
traffic stop, the officer established probable cause to search the vehicle and
recovered a loaded .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun, a face mask, body armor
and a small amount of cannabis. Hamann
faces five felony counts and four misdemeanor charges.
- On 7/18, Mt. Prospect resident Jamal Dumas was arrested on the 1600
block of Foster Street for carrying a loaded .22 pistol with an obliterated
serial number. The subject is a felon
and faces numerous felony charges including a parole violation warrant. Dumas
is still in-custody at the Cook County jail.
- During the period from 7/18-7/23, there were seven bicycles
stolen. Four of these were either
unlocked in storage areas or stolen from unlocked garages.
- It could be worse, bicycle owners: Two vehicles were stolen this week –
the first on 7/18 - a 2014 Nissan minivan on the 1700 block of Wesley and the
second on 7/21 - a 2003 Audi convertible on the 1500 block of Oak Avenue.
- On 7/21, a shooting occurred, injuring two victims, on the 1900 block
of Emerson Street at around 7:25PM. Both were transported to North Shore
Evanston Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The shooting is thought to be gang-related.
Detectives are investigating leads.
- On 7/22, the EPD was alerted to an incident near McCormick and Oakton
in which a vehicle was fired upon, killing one of the occupants. Skokie Police believe that this was not a
random shooting. Police have several theories surrounding this homicide. Retaliation across Evanston borders is a
concern by police.
Looking Ahead
- Thinking global: As unthinkable terrorist acts dominate the world news,
EPD and surround jurisdictions will be stepping up security at areas consular
offices, mosques and synagogues.
- We may not have the World Largest Garage Sale anymore, but we still
have the downtown sidewalk sale on 7/25-7/27.
The EPD will be on hand to keep bikes off sidewalks, pockets from being picked
and panhandlers from being too aggressive.
- EPD NET and PST officers will continue to monitor evening basketball
games at the Fleetwood-Jordain Center.
- School’s out for summer! It’s
official. Summer school has ended for
Districts 65 and 212. It starts all
over again on 8/25
Inquiring Minds - The difference
between theft, burglary and a preview of YTD crime statistics in Evanston
In this week’s Deployment Meeting, Commander Parrott
gave us a peek at some of the notable crime stats for the first half of the
2014. He’ll be publishing the results in
an upcoming bulletin, but in the meantime, we decided to focus on the present
crime wave of bicycle thefts.
The data separates burglaries (bicycles stolen from
structures like garages or storage areas) from thefts (bicycles stolen from
bike racks or open areas). There are
separate datasets for bikes valued by their owners at more or less than $500.
So far this year, burglaries where a bicycle was
taken represent approximately just over 35% of all burglaries.(For all of 2013,
the percentage was approximately 23%)
Bike thefts have accounted for 20% of all thefts
this year. (The 2013 percentage was about 14.0%)
While burglaries and thefts related to bicycles have
both spiked this year, keep in mind that these are largely crimes of
opportunities and not the well-planned strategies of professionals. In the last month alone, most bicycles have
been stolen from unlocked garages or in common areas where bikes have been left
unlocked. The word “unsecured” or
“unlocked” appears multiple times in every Daily Crime Bulletin. And when you lock your bike, use a
u-lock. In fact, use two u-locks or
you’ll be reporting a stolen bicycle like I just did two days ago when my
daughter’s cable-locked mountain bike disappeared from an Evanston playground.
Don’t forget to register your bike: http://www.cityofevanston.org/police/bicycle-registration/
The below photo shows one of the best deterrents for
having your bicycle stolen from a bicycle rack. This photo is courtesy of the San Francisco Police Department's Anti-Bike Theft Unit.
 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.
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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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