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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 - Happy Holidays
Here’s
good news just in time for this festive season and it comes to you straight
from the Evanston Police Department: there was not much crime during this
deployment period from December 10 - December 16 that the Major Incidents &
Accidents Crime Map showed.
There
were, of course, a handful of package thefts, one or two vehicle burglaries, a couple
of shoplifting incidents and a few gang-related ‘shots fired’ calls, but it appears that the
EPD has once again effectively tamped down criminal activity in our city. It’s a slower week when the Criminal Analyst
has little to analyze and the Ordinary Citizen has nothing to report, but it’s
good news for everyone who lives and works here.
Deployment Meeting – Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Prior to This Week
- There were two robbery incidents on 12/10. In the first, an assailant came up behind a
victim and pushed an unknown item, possibly a weapon, into his back on the 1500
block of Chicago Avenue. He fled with
the victim’s wallet. Two hours later,
around 11:40 AM near the intersection of Dempster and Oak, an individual
grabbed a gold chain from a victim’s neck. It is unknown at this time if these
incidents are related.
- More packages thefts during the week: the 1200 block of Cleveland on
12/10, the 1700 block of Keeney, the 800 block of Dodge and the 700 block of
Roslyn Place and the 1500 block of Sherman on 12/11.
- The rash of gym locker thefts on the 1600 block of Sherman continued
with four separate incidents the morning of 12/11.
- Thieves attempted to break into a residence on the 200 block of Grey on
12/11.
- A routine traffic stop on Greenwood and Dodge resulted in the 12/11
arrest of James Benson, 24, for UUW (unlawful use of a weapon).
- Way to go, residents: On 12/12, neighbors reported two subjects
checking door handles on the 1300 block of Cleveland.
- Grinches know no gender. A female
was observed destroying holiday lights at a residence on the 2400 block of
Lincoln the evening of 12/13. Another
offender stole holiday decorations along with copper items from a yard on the
1100 block of Pitner the previous night.
- Yes, spitting can result in a charge of simple battery. Luckily for the spitter who assailed a victim
on the 200 block of Custer on 12/13, the victim wasn’t able to identify her.
- A home on the 300 block of Custer was fired upon late at night on
12/15. The EPD was called to the scene; observed
bullet holes and recovered 13 shell casings. The attack is thought to be
retaliation for a prior gang-related incident.
- Now it’s Evanston yard waste carts: perhaps related to last week’s
garbage cart caper, a thief or thieves stole a yard waste cart on 12/15 from an
address on the 1300 block of Cleveland. Since the last City yard waste pickup
was 12/6, it looks like the crooks will have to go back to garbage carts.
- On 12/16, an unknown offender punched a victim near the corner of Brown
and Church and absconded with his cash.
- The CPD, investigating unlawful possession of weapons, searched a
residence on the 1700 block of Darrow and arrested Leonard Perkins on weapons
charges. He was taken into police
custody for having three handguns illegally.
Looking Ahead
- The EPD will be saying goodbye to a longtime veteran of its force,
Deputy Chief Joseph Wazny Jr., who is leaving to take over as Police Chief of
Manhattan, Illinois in Will County. He
was selected from an initial field of 49 candidates and 7 finalists.
- Elisha R. Murphy, 18, a frequent runaway, has been missing since 12/5.
Area law enforcement agencies will continue to search for her.
- Now that most NU student have headed home for the holidays, PST
officers will be working with university police to step up patrols in the
neighborhoods where recent residential burglaries have taken place.
- In The Squad Room will return on 1/8. Please continue to refer to the
Daily Crime Bulletin for current incidents and arrests. Happy holidays!!
Inquiring Minds - There have been several
incidents over the last few months of juveniles using BB guns. Does a BB gun qualify under Illinois law as a
firearm?
Most importantly, Evanston city ordinance 9-14-2
prohibits anyone within the city limits of Evanston to possess an air rifle. An
air rifle means
and includes any pneumatic gun, air gun, air pistol, spring gun, spring pistol,
BB gun, pellet gun, or any similar device which uses a spring, pneumatic
device, compressed air or compressed gas to impel a pellet constructed of hard
plastic, steel, lead, or other hard materials with a force that reasonably is
expected to cause bodily harm. So yes, this includes air soft guns. Further
information on the Illinois law regarding air rifles is listed below.
According to the
Illinois Air Rifle Act, an air rifle is "any air gun, air pistol, spring
gun, spring pistol, B-B gun, paint ball gun, pellet gun or any implement that
is not a firearm which impels a breakable paint ball containing washable
marking colors or, a pellet constructed of hard plastic, steel, lead, or other
hard materials...expected to cause bodily harm." Guns like these that shoot at a muzzle
velocity of less than 700 feet per second are not considered firearms in
Illinois. That doesn’t make them
harmless. The CDC reported over 30,000
BB gun injuries in one year alone. Fired
at close range, a BB gun can result in permanent disability of death.
The Illinois Air
Rifle Act makes it illegal to sell, give or rent an air rifle to anyone under
the age of 13. It is illegal for anyone
under 13 to carry a loaded air rifle on public property, including streets,
roads or highways. A minor under 13 may possess an air rifle if it is kept
within his home, used for a group or club for educational purposes, or if it is
used on private grounds in a manner that does not endanger anyone. Imitation firearms (toy guns) are required by
law to have a blaze orange coloring on the barrel of the gun. Removal of this
color is illegal under federal law.
Air rifles are not legal
in Evanston and in the times we live in along with certain recent events, this
ought to be enough to convince any clear-thinking parent or grandparent that
these don’t make good toys. There are plenty of indoor and outdoor paintball
establishments within easy driving distance of Evanston, including one in
Skokie, to satisfy a young person’s interest in target practice.
 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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 The 12-week Citizen Police Academy is over until next year. We are currently accepting applications for the Spring 2015 session which celebrates our 20th year for CPA. 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 900 graduates since 1995, please visit www.cityofevanston.org/cpa and plan ahead to enroll in the 20th Anniversary class which starts in March. 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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