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News
More Crime, but also many more people here : News : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisMore Crime, but also many more people here
| State Police report notes population growth running ahead of crime
| by Tony Scott
| 11/5/2009
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Despite a nearly 10 percent rise in population in Kendall County, the total number of crimes increased only slightly between 2007 and 2008, according to a report recently released by the Illinois State Police.
The total number of crimes in Kendall County increased from 1,882 in 2007 to 1,932 in 2008, an increase of 2.7 percent. And the crime rate per 100,000 people actually decreased by 6.5 percent between those two years, according to the report.
According to the State Police, the population of Kendall County in 2007 was 88,158, and grew to 96,818 in 2008, an increase of 9.8 percent.
Most communities in Kendall County saw a decrease in the total number of offenses reported. The State Police report showed increases in crime numbers in the Village of Oswego, and the areas of Aurora, Joliet, Minooka, Plainfield and Sandwich that are within Kendall County's boundaries.
Oswego Police Chief Dwight Baird said the increase is similar to those seen in previous years. He also noted that, while the total number of offenses reported rose by 15.5 percent, the village's crime index, or number of crimes per 100,000 people, increased by 4.5 percent. The village's population, the report notes, increased by 10.5 percent between 2007 and 2008 - from 26,252 to 29,012.
"Our population rose by 10.5 percent, but our crime rate rose by 4.5 (percent)," Baird said. "That's why they use a crime rate - they want to compare, based on your population, with other communities."
Baird noted that, in 1998, the crime rate was 2,944 crimes per 100,000 people, when the population of the village was 9,101 people. He said that, 10 years later, the crime rate was 2,265 per 100,000 people, and the village's population was, according to a special census, 29,012.
"So (our population) basically went up 20,000 people, and our crime rate fell over a 10-year period," he said.
Baird said the department looks at "factors we can control." For example, he said the agency is being proactive in dealing with retail thefts, particularly with the new stores that have opened up in the village in recent years.
"The more stores that open up, the more we become a target," he said. "We work well with the retail providers and look at different tactics to prevent some of that."
He said the village saw 220 retail thefts in 2008, and this year, as of mid-October, the village has seen 119.
"If we can bring that number in under 200, that would be a decrease of about 10 percent, and that's pretty good," he said.
Yorkville Police Chief Harold Martin said he was satisfied with a decrease in aggravated assault and battery cases, from 13 in 2007 to five in 2008, as well as the decline in thefts, from 195 to 190.
"As far as thefts going down, we've been working with our new stores," Martin said. "Oswego gave us a heads up on how much their increase was once (the stores) were on board. We have a lot of interaction with our stores, so hopefully that's been one of the reasons (the figure is) down as much as it is."
Martin said he was also happy about the crime rate in the city decreasing. The rate per 100,000 decreased by 32.9 percent, and the total number of crimes decreased by 9.1 percent.
"Overall, we're really pleased about how our crime rate went down," he said. "We were afraid it was going to increase at least a little bit because of the (number) of people (moving into) the city."
Sheriff Richard Randall noted that the statistics for the Kendall County Sheriff's Office were "not off the charts," particularly given the rise in population.
"For the increase in population, we're not at a bad number," he said.
However, Randall said he was concerned about the types of crimes, such as criminal sexual assault, that have increased. The number of criminal sexual assaults reported by the Sheriff's Office increased by 140 percent - from five in 2007 to 12 in 2008.
"The only thing that's probably disturbing is, even though the numbers haven't (increased) significantly, the crimes are more substantial," he said.
Martin said his department is at full force at the moment, with 34 officers, including him, on the roster. He said the department has about 1.76 officers per 1,000 people, which is just below the national average in this area of 1.81 officers per 1,000 people.
He said that while the number of officers per 1,000 people is similar to other neighboring communities, the size of Yorkville is larger than other comparable towns.
"We've got a little over 20 square miles to patrol," Martin said. "That makes it a little more difficult. Most of the average towns are about four to five square miles."
Baird said he is able to get the resources he needs from the Oswego Village Board, which he said helps him maintain a proactive police force.
"We try to maintain a proactive approach to law enforcement; we don't want to be reactive," he said. "When you fall behind in your manpower, then you become reactive; it's tough to catch up. My board... I tell them, 'This is what I need, and this is why I need it,' and they've been very supportive."
Baird assured residents that, while in some areas crime numbers go up, the police department is trained to handle such crimes.
"It's a safe community, and we're going to maintain that," he said. "Something's going to come up every once in a while, and our officers are trained to respond to it accordingly."
Offenses up in Oswego,
but down in Montgomery
The number of total offenses and total arrests by police agencies in Kendall County increased between 2007 and 2008, with the number of offenses rising 2.7 percent from 1,882 recorded offenses in 2007 to 1,932 offenses in 2008. There were 377 arrests made by agencies in 2007, and 579 arrests in 2008, an increase of 53.6 percent, according to the State Police.
The Oswego Police Department saw an increase of 15.5 percent in the number of offenses, from 569 in 2007 to 657 in 2008. There were nine criminal sexual assaults reported in 2007 and four in 2008; six robberies in 2007 and seven robberies in 2008; eight aggravated assault and batteries in 2007 and 17 in 2008, an increase of 112.5 percent; 49 burglaries in 2007 and 55 in 2008, an increase of 12.2 percent; 487 thefts in 2007 and 560 in 2008, an increase of 15 percent; seven motor vehicle thefts in 2007 and six in 2008; and three arsons in 2007 with eight in 2008.
The Yorkville Police Department saw a decrease of 9.1 percent in the number of offenses, from 276 in 2007 to 251 in 2008. There were nine criminal sexual assaults reported in 2007 and eight in 2008; zero robberies in 2007 and one in 2008; 13 aggravated assault and batteries in 2007 and five in 2008, a decrease of 61.5 percent; 56 burglaries in 2007 and 39 in 2008, an decrease of 30.4 percent; 195 thefts in 2007 and 190 in 2008; two motor vehicle thefts in 2007 and five in 2008; and one arson in 2007 with three in 2008.
The Montgomery Police Department, which serves its community in both Kendall and Kane counties, saw a decrease of 17.7 percent in the number of offenses, from 441 in 2007 to 363 in 2008. There was a slight up-tick in the number of thefts in the Kendall County portion of Montgomery, with 169 thefts reported in 2007 and 175 reported in 2008. However, the remainder of the crime statistics shows a decrease in reported offenses in the village.
There were two criminal sexual assaults reported in 2007 and two in 2008; four robberies in 2007 and one robbery in 2008; 18 aggravated assault and batteries in 2007 and 11 in 2008; 81 burglaries in 2007 and 54 in 2008, an decrease of 33 percent; 318 thefts in 2007 and 287 in 2008, a decrease of 9.7 percent; 16 motor vehicle thefts in 2007 and eight in 2008; and two arsons in 2007, and zero arsons in 2008.
The Plano Police Department saw a decrease of 2.7 percent in the number of offenses, from 222 in 2007 to 216 in 2008. There were two criminal sexual assaults reported in 2007 and five in 2008; one robbery in 2007 and two robberies in 2008; three aggravated assault and batteries in 2007 and two in 2008; 25 burglaries in 2007 and 35 in 2008, an increase of 40 percent; 183 thefts in 2007 and 164 in 2008, a decrease of 10.4 percent; six motor vehicle thefts in 2007 and eight in 2008; and two arsons in 2007 and zero arsons in 2008.
The Kendall County Sheriff's Office saw a decrease of 7.5 percent in the number of offenses, from 477 in 2007 to 441 in 2008. There was one murder reported in 2007 and none in 2008; five criminal sexual assaults reported in 2007 and 12 in 2008; two robberies in 2007 and two robberies in 2008; 37 aggravated assault and batteries in 2007 and 32 in 2008, a decrease of 13.5 percent; 109 burglaries in 2007 and 141 in 2008, an increase of 29.4 percent; 300 thefts in 2007 and 238 in 2008, a decrease of 20.7 percent; 15 motor vehicle thefts in 2007 and 15 in 2008; and eight arsons in 2007 with one in 2008.
In the Kendall County portion of Joliet, that city's police agency showed an increase of 59.4 percent in the number of offenses, from 69 in 2007 to 110 in 2008. There was one criminal sexual assault and one robbery reported in 2008, with zero of those offenses reported in 2007. The statistics show there was one aggravated assault and battery in the Kendall County portion of Joliet in 2007, and three such crimes committed in 2008. There were 14 burglaries reported in Joliet in 2007, and 32 burglaries in 2008, and there were 53 thefts reported in 2007, and 70 such crimes reported in 2008. There was one motor vehicle theft in the Kendall County portion of Joliet in 2007, and three such crimes committed in 2008.
In the Kendall County portion of Aurora, that city's police department reported a 50 percent increase in the number of offenses, from 28 in 2007 to 42 in 2008. There was one criminal sexual assault reported in 2007, and the same in 2008. There were no robberies reported in that section of the city in 2007, and one reported in 2008. Two aggravated assault and batteries were reported in 2007, and five reported in 2008. There were five burglaries reported in 2007 and 11 in 2008, and 14 thefts reported in 2007 with 23 such crimes reported in 2008. Six motor vehicle thefts were reported in 2007, and one in 2008.
In other communities that have borders extending into Kendall County, the Minooka Police Department reported an increase from seven crimes in 2007 to 11 crimes in 2008 that took place in the section of that village that is within Kendall County. One criminal sexual assault, one burglary, and one motor vehicle theft were reported in that village in 2007, and none such crimes reported in 2008. There were four thefts reported in that portion of Minooka in 2007, and 11 in 2008.
In the Kendall County portion of Plainfield, 23 total crimes were reported in 2007 and nine in 2008. There were seven burglaries in 2007 and three in 2008; 15 thefts in 2007 and six in 2008, and one motor vehicle theft in 2007 and none in 2008. In the Kendall County portion of Sandwich, there were two thefts reported in 2007 and two thefts in 2008.
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