By Igor Studenkov | Bugle Staff
nweditor@buglenewspapers.com
@NilesILNews
Park Ridge saw its crime rates drop by almost 11.5 percent in 2015, leading to the lowest crime rates the city has seen in the past five years.
According to information provided by the Park Ridge Police Department, crime rates have decreased in most categories, compared with 2014. The only category that saw any increase was arson, while the number of robberies and motor vehicle thefts remained static. Overall, the information indicates a five-year downward trend in all categories.
During the Feb. 15 Park Ridge City Council meeting, officials praised the Park Ridge Police Department for their good work.
“Thank you to our police officers and our police chief for the good work on that,” Second Ward Ald. Nicholas Milissis said.
Police Chief Frank Kaminski told the City Council that the decrease was due to a combination of several factors, rather than any one single tactic. He cited greater community outreach and collaboration with other law enforcement organizations as major reasons for the decrease.
“We are very happy,” Kaminski said. “Everybody gets to celebrate.”
Kaminski also expressed a hope that these strategies would continue to drive the crime rates down this year.
According to the police department, Park Ridge’s 2015 crime rate was 1083.2. Because the most recent state and county crime data available is from 2014, it’s hard to gauge how the city compares. But the Park Ridge Police Department said the city’s overall crime rate has declined by 20.1 percent since 2011.
As in the previous year, the city did not have a single homicide or forcible rape in 2015. The rate of robberies remained the same as in 2014, but the police department said that it still means that Park Ridge had the smallest number of robberies in the past five years. Over the past five years, the number of robberies declined by 42.8 percent.
The rate of aggravated battery and assault crimes decreased by 71.7 percent since 2014 and 85.8 percent since 2011. The rate of residential burglaries decreased by 3.8 percent since 2014, but the long-term decrease is more drastic, with the rate dropping by 45.7 percent since 2011. The rate of thefts decreased by 14.4 percent, which is a more dramatic decrease than the overall 6.5 percent decrease since 2011.
The rate of motor vehicle thefts remained the same 2015.
The police documents said the rate increased by 16.9 percent since 2011, but added that it’s only because of the increase between 2011 and 2012. Since then, they insisted that the rate has been declining.
Finally, the number of arsons increased by 196.3 percent. But that figure is less drastic that it may seem, as arson makes up a small percentage of Park Ridge crimes. The sizeable spike was caused by two additional arsons. The 2014 saw a dip in arsons, but the 2015 rate is the same as 2013 and 2011 rates.
When Acting Mayor Marty Maloney asked the chief what might have caused the drop in crime rates, Kaminiski replied that there wasn’t just one reason.
“I think it’s the work we’ve been doing to try to regain public trust – I think that worked,” he said. “People are talking to us.”
He also said increased foot patrols probably helped as well, as did greater collaboration with other area law enforcement agencies, the more community-orientated approach to policing and community-police collaboration programs such as Police and Community Together. And sometimes, Kaminski said, it was for reasons that were harder to pin down.
“I think sometimes, it’s just plain luck,” he said.