Few Arrests Made In Western Springs

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – Western Springs makes few arrests compared to Hinsdale and La Grange.

Patch looked at the number of arrests reported in the villages' weekly police blotters.

From January to April, Western Springs arrested 13 people, which averaged less than one a week. Last year, the village went six weeks without an arrest.

By comparison, Hinsdale and La Grange listed 38 and 24 arrests, respectively, from January to April.

Both Hinsdale and La Grange are larger in population than Western Springs. La Grange is 20 percent bigger, while Hinsdale is 30 percent. But that does not explain the gap in arrests.

About a quarter of Western Springs' arrests were outside the normal business hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Hinsdale and La Grange showed far greater rates of night arrests – 66 percent and 58 percent, respectively.

Like many police departments, the one in Western Springs has experienced challenges in filling vacancies in recent months, said Selmin Cicek, the village's spokeswoman. The village is down five officers. The department is actively working to recruit officers from other towns, known as "lateral transfers," she said.

"Two police officers from neighboring departments, each with more than 20 years of experience, have recently accepted positions with Western Springs and will begin training with the WSPD soon," Cicek said in an email. "We will re-open recruitment for lateral transfers again in mid-May, with the goal of being fully staffed as soon as possible."

In addition to the adult arrests, Cicek said, the police department has arrested 19 juveniles over the last four months. The village did not report any of those arrests in its blotter. In La Grange and Hinsdale, all but one of the reported arrests were adults.

To handle youths, Western Springs offers a "peer jury" program that is designed for "meaningful remediation" for juveniles charged with minor offenses, Cicek said.

Cicek said the village has sufficient resources day or night to make arrests.

"(W)e believe that Western Springs is a relatively safe community and that proactive community policing efforts go a long way towards reducing and preventing crime," she said. "The Village has been repeatedly recognized as being one of the safest places to live in Illinois. For example, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports indicate that Western Springs is one of the safer communities in the area."

As of May 9, the department reported that the night shift, year to date, has made 268 traffic stops, issued 122 parking tickets and responded to 133 calls for service requiring police reports.

Year to date, the department also has conducted 368 directed patrols, which involved patrolling specific areas after reports of traffic issues, suspicious incidents or vacation watches.

Police Chief Sean Gilhooley took the helm in early March.

"I will continue to have an open-door policy so that we as a Police Department can address all concerns to keep our residents, visitors, and officers safe," the chief said in a statement.

Each year, the village mails a survey to nearly 200 households. After a decade of surveys, Cicek said, the responses are consistent, with virtually no negative feedback.