Darien Burglaries: When And Where?

DARIEN, IL — You may want to leave on the lights at night when you are away to let potential burglars believe you are at home. And that's OK. But the Darien police chief says most break-ins don't happen at night in town.

Most residential burglaries happen between noon and 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Chief Greg Thomas told the City Council this week. They are concentrated on the city's north side, north of 75th Street and east of Cass Avenue.

"Typically, they take money and jewelry," Thomas said. "Obviously for us, it makes sense to patrol those areas. A lot of you may not see us patrolling. We are in unmarked vehicles and in surveillance operations. Sunday through Wednesday, you might see more of us in marked cars. It's perception. It puts the public at ease to see that police are there."

The effort to go after burglars is one that the police are enthusiastic about, Thomas said. "Police officers love catching thieves. It's the fun part of the job," he said.

The chief said the police department's Twitter account helps the town by alerting when and where burglaries of houses and cars are happening. The downside, he said, is that it feeds the perception that crime is up in town.

However, he said, crime has been dropping in general. From 2009 to 2016, the number of reported crimes averaged about 370 annually, the chief said. The number was 190 in 2019. He said "190 is still too many, but it's significantly reduced. We are a good, safe community. It's police working in harmony with the community."

Mayor Joseph Marchese said when one or two incidents are reported, residents draw the conclusion there is a high crime rate, when in fact it is actually dropping.