Hinsdale Sees Increase In Overnight Crimes: Police

HINSDALE, IL — Hinsdale is seeing an increase in overnight crimes such as car thefts, but the village's police chief said this week he was confident officers would arrest the perpetrators.

In the last month, two cars have been stolen in the Woodlands neighborhood and another two in the areas of Bruner and Quincy streets in northwest Hinsdale, Police Chief Brian King told the Village Board this week.

In four other instances, officers stopped perpetrators from stealing from residents, King said.

In March, he said, the police carried out search warrants that resulted in seven arrests in south suburbs such as Dolton and South Holland. The suspects were the most prolific in conducting overnight thefts in DuPage County, the chief said.

"After that, we experienced a lull in overnight activity," King said. "That lull is clearly over. It's over in a significant way in the last three weeks."

The chief said he expected the police would make arrests in the latest crimes.

"We have made significant progress in overnight activity. I'm very confident we will tamp things down. People will get locked up," King said.

But even with arrests, he said, the crimes would eventually pick up as long as suspects had easy access to unlocked luxury cars with keys inside. He said the thieves also are targeting other suburbs, including Burr Ridge, with large numbers of luxury cars.

"The guys are in town for a short period of time, and they drive away with vehicles in some cases worth more money than the houses they are staying in," King said.

Hinsdale is one of Chicago's wealthiest suburbs. Its median housing price, for instance, is nine times Dolton's, according to the U.S. Census.

"There will always be people who will steal something they can readily take," the chief said. "Success is trying to convince residents to lock their doors and remove their (key) fobs each and every night."

King plans to hold a public forum about crime on the Zoom video conferencing program at 7 p.m. Monday. Residents can watch on Channel 6 or go to a link on the village's website.