Carjackings More Than Tripled In Oak Park In 2017: Cops

OAK PARK, IL — Overall crime in Oak Park went up by just 2% in 2017, but carjackings almost quadrupled, according to recent data released by police. Law enforcement officials believe this spike in carjackings is largely responsible for that 2% increase, along with a sharp increase in overall robberies.

In 2016, police say they investigated four carjackings and one attempted carjacking. In 2017, police responded to 15 carjacking reports and four incidents of attempted carjacking. This brought the overall robberies in Oak Park up from 68 in 2016 to 134 in 2017.

According to police, vehicle thefts also rose considerably from 80 in 2016 to 107 in 2017. Police note that the keys were left inside the vehicles in more than 32 of these incidents.

In 2017, the village saw its first homicides since 2012, with two reported homicides. Police say reported sexual assaults tripled from three in 2016 to 9 in 2017.

A month into 2018, police are currently investigating two recent homicides involving elderly residents.

To help combat this pattern of increasing crime, Oak Park Police have recently upped patrols to increase police visibility in an effort to deter crime.

Visit the village's website to view the entire Oak Park Crime Data for 2017.

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