Calls to 911 by Skokie residents reporting suspicious activity helped decrease crime in the village in 2011, according to Police Chief Anthony Scarpelli.
Village statistics show a total of 4,866 crimes reported in Skokie in 2011, which is down from 5,078 in 2010. The number of crimes reported in 2011 was also below the five-year average of 5,072 reports of crimes per year, and below the 20-year average of 5,195 per year, according to the village.
Chief Scarpelli said a big factor in the decrease is that more residents are calling 911 when they observe unusual activity in their neighborhoods.
“They’re our extended eyes and ears,” he said. “When they call us it contributes to our ability to solve crimes. We can act proactively rather than try and investigate a crime to a successful conclusion later.”
According to the preliminary data, robberies were down from 62 in 2010 to 41 in 2011.
“We don’t want to see any crimes occur, but crimes against persons are considered more serious,” Scarpelli said.
The chief noted that burglaries were down by 10 percent, theft decreased by 9 percent and motor vehicle theft dropped by 3 percent.
He said that although crimes against people are fewer in number than property crimes, crimes against people are typically more “newsworthy.” He said that might contribute to a “misperception that overall crime is rising in the community.”
Approximately 8 to 9 percent of all crimes are against people, with the remaining 91 to 92 percent related to property, Scarpelli said.
A more detailed analysis on the 2011 Skokie crime statistics will be published in the April or May 2011 edition of NewSkokie, the village newsletter. In the meantime, members of the residents’ group Skokie Voice said they are happy with the 2011 crimes stats they have seen so far.
“Skokie Voice appreciates the dedication of the Skokie Police Department to keeping our community safe, including the SPD’s recognition that resident engagement is vital to this process,” Skokie Voice member Lisa Lipin said in a statement.
“To that end, Skokie Voice initiated the June 2010 Town Hall meeting at which residents expressed significant concerns about public safety, especially at a number of public parks,” the statement continued. “The Village responded with increased police patrols – and Skokie Voice has continued to serve as a conduit for such concerns.”
The largest increase in any crime category in the village in 2011 was in thefts from motor vehicles, most of which came during a rash of incidents during the late summer, said Scarpelli. He said police investigations found that the majority of the targeted vehicles were unlocked.
“The people responsible would go up and down a couple of blocks, pull on a vehicle door handle and if it was open they’d see if there was anything of value or interest to take and move on to the next one,” he said.
Scarpelli said the other significant increase was in drug offenses. But he said the increase coincides directly with the coordinated efforts of the department’s tactical mission team and other police department units to focus on crime trends, gang activity and narcotics-related offenses.
“What it means is that we’ve applied more resources to the arrest of crimes of that nature,” Scarpelli said. “In essentially all instances it’s based on increased emphasis by us, not necessarily an increase of the product.”
