Diamond Earrings, 52-inch TV and Computers Among Items Taken in Two Thursday Burglaries

Joe July 13, 2012 at 03:00 pm

Every week in the Elmhurst Independence Police Reports there are a number burglaries reported and a number of arrest made for DUI, under aged drinking, etc but I never see an arrest from a burglary. I live on a secondary street in Elmhurst and the last time I saw a patrol car driving down my street was two weeks ago and before that I can’t even remember. Our police department is clearly running a full court press on DUI arrest which is outstanding but maybe we need more of a balance between looking for drunk drivers and protecting our homes.

M July 13, 2012 at 04:05 pm

Joe,
http://elmhurst.patch.com/articles/burglary-suspects-crash-car-one-suspect-caught-two-flee-on-foot

M July 13, 2012 at 04:07 pm

Joe,
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/elmhurst/newsnow/x1581724556/Elmhurst-Police-arrest-two-burglary-suspects

M July 13, 2012 at 04:20 pm

Joe, do you look out your window 24 hours a day everyday? How do you know the police are not patrolling your street? Elmhurst is 10 miles from the border of the most violent and dangerous city in the world and 3 to 5 miles away from one of the worst suburbs. In a perfect Utopian world, there would be no crime. But, unfortunately we don't. The police are doing their jobs in this city. As a citizen, I recommend we support our police. They are they only ones between us and the wolves. And, it's only going to get worse. When you call 911, they come in force to protect us no matter what. Even if it means that they don't return home to their own families.

Joy July 13, 2012 at 04:31 pm

I think the police could maybe step things up but what about the citezens keeping an eye out. My friend who lives at St. Charles and Prospect which is a very busy intersection was robbed at 10:00 in the morning. After attempting to pry open her front door they moved a very large plant stand and busted open her window. I cannot believe no one noticed as cars have to sit at that intersection to wait to pull out. We can all be more aware. We are going to have to be.

Joy July 13, 2012 at 04:33 pm

"Citizens" Never type without glasses.

M July 13, 2012 at 05:05 pm

Agreed, Joy. But, how do we know that the police haven't stepped it up? The police have to handle numerous service calls throughout the day and I am certain they just don't have the ability to patrol every street every hour of the day. All these criminals do 24 hours a day, is think about how they are going to commit crimes and not get caught. They look for residents who leave their house, they look for witnesses, and they look for where the police may be. If there is an opportunity, they go for it! These thugs are probably not in these houses more than 2 minutes and they are gone. We all need to do our job and assist the police with catching these criminals. We are all in it together. Complaining about the police patrol techniques, when we just don't have all the facts, is not beneficial to anyone. I am certain there is a whole lot of other things going on behind the scenes besides what the Patch or media reports.

Joy July 13, 2012 at 05:42 pm

Ummm, I think that is what I just said.

North Side July 13, 2012 at 07:23 pm

Elmhurst is 10 miles from the border of the most violent and dangerous city in the world and 3 to 5 miles away from one of the worst suburbs??? What city is that?? Chicago?? It's not quiet that's for sure but in the list of the top 100 dangerous, Chicago ranks at number 82!! What "worst" suburb are you referring too "M", I'm dying to find this one out cause I can think of a dozen cities/suburbs that are brutal and don't come geographically close to the "diamond in the rough" that your making little ole Elmhurst out to be.......that was kind of ignorant, no??

Dave July 13, 2012 at 07:42 pm

Well, at most it may have been a little hyperbole to make point. But you have to admit there are parts of Chicago that are treacherous. Now Chicago has roving gangs that beat the hell out of shoppers and tourists for kicks. We're not all that far from the mayhem, and M is right, it ain't gonna get better.

North Side July 13, 2012 at 08:02 pm

yes, there are parts that are Dave no doubt about it...but to say we're "10 miles from the border of the most violent and dangerous city in the world and 3 to 5 miles away from one of the worst suburbs" was ridiculous even if it was solely done for point making purposes...

Katie Marsico July 13, 2012 at 10:52 pm

I respect and am grateful to our police force. One thing I'm curious about, however, is how the rate of burglaries in Elmhurst has changed over even the past few years and how that rate of change compares to other nearby suburbs. I understand the economy is bad, etc., but I question how much of any increase in burglaries is attributable to that particular factor (especially if Elmhurst has experienced a steeper increase in burglaries than other western suburbs). Anyone know this info.?

Katie Marsico July 13, 2012 at 10:56 pm

It could be that we aren't experiencing as steep an increase in burglaries (when compared to the number that occurred over the past few years) as it appears. Having lived here three decades, though, it just seems like an awful lot!

Lexi G. July 14, 2012 at 02:59 am

EPD does need to step it up a notch in my opinion. The number of attempted and/or successful burglaries over the past year (even months) seems ridiculous. The police need to make it obvious that they are going to kick some serious butt if this crap doesn't stop. For years all I've heard is the crime is moving West. Well I'll be damned if they think it's going to move into this town. Come on EPD, you're better than this!

Tim Goodwin July 14, 2012 at 07:06 pm

I would be curious to see how much of an increase in burglaries there actually have been. In my expereince, these things kind of ebb and flow over time. Just an observation, but with this immediate reporting on the patch there might be a perception of a huge increase in crimes, etc. I have lived here for over 20 years, I remember about 10 years ago there seeming like alot of burglaries because one of my neighbors had his home broken into and a friend several blocks away also was burglarized. Thankfully, I nor anybody I know have been burglarized sonce then. If not for patch, I would not know have known about these burglaries. The same goes for DUI's etc. Has there been a huge increase over the years, or does it just seem that way because we now read about them everyday.

Jim Beaumont July 15, 2012 at 02:40 am

This so reminds me of years ago when the buglaries started in Oak Park. Everyone accepted it as part of living in dear old Oak Park. They have built 8 foot fences around there yards and keep nothing in their garage or it is stolen. They are quick to talk about the days of unlocked doors, while they ignore the crime around them. Let's NOT let Elmhurst turn into Oak Park. We need to help our police, and our neighbors.

Stewart Levine July 15, 2012 at 05:29 pm

i think motion detectors with infrared night vision cameras work, also lots of lighting around your home, and having a big dog, not one of these little teacup dogs that would get eaten by a cat.
on top of that it might be useful to keep a shotgun under your bed to do the community a favor when they do break in and you and your kids are sleeping you can just take'em out. i would blame 3 things, heroin, high unemployment, and massive illegal immigration

Katie Marsico July 17, 2012 at 07:41 pm

Tim, you raise a good point! Either way, it might go a long ways toward easing residents' concerns and/or addressing the realities we're facing if such statistics were provided. Since the EPD recently invited the input of the community in regards to fighting crime, I'd love to see the stats I mentioned made available, as well as if and how the number of officers on our force has fluctuated over the past few years. It's fine to say that the bad economy triggers crime and that it happens everywhere, but, if burglaries are on less of an upswing in neighboring burbs and/or if we don't have enough law-enforcement staff to fight it, that simply doesn't fly. Again, I don't know what--if anything--these numbers would reveal, but they would at least give us the means to know precisely what we're dealing with (versus blaming the police or the economy, etc., etc.)