Reports

Evanston Police Department Annual Reports

2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001

 

2009 vs 2008

While other communities throughout the nation may have seen a rise in crime between 2009 and 2010, the City of Evanston has achieved another consecutive year signifying a decline in major part-one crimes*. The Evanston Police Department remains committed and resolute in conducting in-depth investigations, and deceasing the frequency of homicides, which rose from one in 2009 to six in 2010. 

kids_car.jpgIllustrating significant declines were part-one crimes consisting of; robbery, which was down a 17.%; aggravated battery & assault, down 20.3%; burglary, down a significant 21.7%; theft, down 8.1%; and motor vehicle theft, down 31.3%. Criminal sexual assaults showed no increase remaining at 8 incidents, while arson rose slightly from 12 to 14 incidents equaling an increase of 16.7%. This statistical analysis equates to a year to date comparison aggregate for 2009 to 2010 indicating a total overall decline in crime of 12.4%.

Contributing to this success is the Evanston Police Department’s ability to gather crime data, analyze trends and allocate police resources to expediently focus on areas and individuals. The Evanston Police Department believes it is critical that all police efforts to address crime and quality of life issues be timely, specifically nuanced in the delivery of police services and judicious in their application.

Fostering this concept, each week the Evanston Police Department employs a CompStat** approach, designed to address and analyze all criminal activity in Evanston. During these CompStat sessions (also known as “Deployment Meetings”), crime analysis maps are presented, trends are discussed, and the previous week’s deployment efforts are analyzed. Command staff personnel then review the most current statistical crime category summaries and develop specific deployment strategies designed to expeditiously impact crime in designated geographic areas.

Another important component in successfully addressing crime and quality of life issues has been the Evanston Police Department’s desire to actively establish symbiotic relationships with thirty community groups throughout Evanston. Through these community ties information is exchanged, neighborhood events are held, and the police community partnership is strengthened.

The Evanston Police Department also believes it is extremely important to be transparent, have information accessible to the public and continually communicate as an agency. This is accomplished by officers attending public meetings, sending information via listserve’s and by publishing information on the City of Evanston’s website incorporating monthly crime statistics, the EPD Daily Crime Bulletins and crime prevention publications.

Additionally, in 2010 the Evanston Police Department received international recognition from the International Chiefs of Police Association, for the Safer Neighborhood Area Project. SNAP employed two strategies for preventing crime and increasing safety. Crime prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED), and community based policing measures.

The project was comprehensive and included police, governmental agencies and citizens in a collaboration that specifically focused on areas troubled by chronic crime and disorder. A SNAP Team comprised of CPTED specialists defined project goals and supported participation between police, stakeholders, service agencies, and local businesses.

The Evanston Police Department would like to thank the citizens of Evanston for their continuing support and commitment to the “Police Community Partnership”, which is a key component to the crime reduction strategy.
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* Part-one crimes: part-one crimes are also referred to as “Index Crimes.” These are the eight crimes of: homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny/theft; motor theft and arson.

** CompStat: short for computer statistics, or comparative statistics, is a strategic management philosophy used by police to approach crime reduction. It emphasizes accountability at all levels within the organization and emphasizes the rapid identification of problems with creative solutions. It is not a computer system or software package, but rather an organizational management tool where crime maps and statistics are used to actively target crime in the areas where it is needed the most. The core elements of this method have allowed officers to proactively target emerging crime trends rather than just reacting to them.

Crime Index

A traditional indicator of a jurisdiction's crime level is a measure called the crime index, which comprises all Part I offenses except involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, and justifiable homicide.