Annual report shows 911 calls up, but crime ‘level’ in Morton Grove

MORTON GROVE, IL — A nearly 50-percent increase in 911 calls does not translate into an increase in crime, according to the Morton Grove Police Department.

“For the last couple of years, the rates for the nine crimes that the department reports to state and federal law-enforcement agencies have remained relatively level,” said Cmdr. Michael Fujara. “For instance, we had 68 burglaries in 2010 and 65 in 2009.”

The nine crime categories are homicide, criminal sexual assault, robbery, aggravated battery and assault, burglary, burglary to vehicle, theft, motor-vehicle theft and arson.

The information is part of the department’s 2010 annual report.

The spike in 911 calls has a two-fold explanation, Fujara said.

“It used to be, the department had a nonemergency number,” he explained. “But we’ve been on a re-education campaign to tell residents to call the 911 number if they need police.

“When we used log a lot of information for things like premise checks, the officers would make radio contact with dispatch,” Fujara said. “Come this year, we’ve gotten away from making notification with dispatch.

“We’re doing things internally. Premise checks, directed activities such as speeding, we’re logging internally” on in-squad computers, he said.

The annual report also includes such matters as juvenile crime, training and other activities.

“We as a department take pride in our training,” Fujara said, noting that includes training in criminal and constitutional law, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, tactical driving and video training.

The department also is a founding member of the North Regional Major Crimes Task Force. Created in 1997, the agency investigates such crimes as murder and kidnapping.

“We’ll send an officer or two to assist in an investigation because (member departments) are small,” Fujara explained. “We really don’t have the manpower to investigate a crime like that on our own. We also share technology.”

The multi-department agency also has a burglary task force.

“It can help us identify any patterns and determine a plan to address them,” he added.

Go to mortongroveil.org for a copy of the Morton Grove Police Department’s 2010 annual report.

Read the story here.

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