Dear Fellow Villagers,
Spring is officially here, and with the warmer weather we have seen an uptick in crime in and around Roscoe Village. Our most recent email alert made you aware of a pair of individuals who were posing as construction workers in order to gain access to the interior of people’s homes. We wanted to let you know that, while the police department had yet to make any arrests as of March 26, officers in the 19th District have leads and are continuing to investigate those suspects. As a reminder, never let anyone you do not know into your home until you have taken steps to confirm their identity and intentions.
We also wanted to give you a short update on certain events occurring in the 19th District. First, Commander Marc Buslik is retiring after 39 years of service. Commander Buslik has been a great asset and ally to Roscoe Village and all of the 19th District, and we will miss him. We will find out who our new commander will be in May. The 19th District added additional bike officers to its roster, which now includes a full-time lakefront team as well as one or more roving teams. Bike officers are helpful because they increase police visibility and allow officers access to parts of our neighborhood that are not ordinarily visible by car. The District also added 10 new license plate readers to its squad cars, which automatically read and run license plates against databases to identify stolen vehicles or vehicles that have been used in crimes. These new readers already have increased the time that officers can be out on the streets by reducing downtime during shift changes, and they are anticipated to help prevent crime going forward as word spreads about our area’s new capabilities. The 19th District also has a new high-tech facility for monitoring camera feeds across our area and getting those feeds directly to officers on the streets, which we are bolstering with the addition of our very own NOW Network cameras. The 19th District is extremely grateful for our support. Finally, please see this flyer for a Community Conversation being held 6:00-8:00pm on April 3rd at Sulzer Library (4455 N. Lincoln), which is a great opportunity to give officers and staff feedback and ideas for how to improve policing in the 19th District. We encourage everyone to attend. VIEW FLYER
Lastly, we want to make you aware of a few safety tips:
- You can register a Smart 911 profile for you and your family at https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/oem/provdrs/Smart911.html
- You can upload pictures, prescriptions, license plate numbers, floor plans, pets, which will help first responders in the event you need 911 services.
- Don’t be shy about using 911 to report suspicious activity. If you want to remain anonymous, simply tell the 911 operator and your name, phone number, and calling address will be strictly kept confidential.
- If you see graffiti, make sure to report it to both 911 and 311. Reporting graffiti only to 311 for clean up hinders the ability of our police department to track incidents and to spot patterns.
Warmest regards,
Roscoe Village Neighbors
Neighborhood Watch Committee