Police beat: Crime is down citywide. But that's only part of the story

08/05/2009

Comparing the first six months of 2008 with the first six months of 2009 shows that the incidence of serious crime - what the police department categorizes as "index crime" - fell 8.6 percent. Read more...

BMX bandit strikes

07/29/2009

A man was walking to his vehicle near 1817 W. 21st Pl. July 26 at 10:23 p.m. when a man wearing a green jacket that said "Dylan" on the back approached and asked what pizza place the other man was from. The man in the green jacket then pulled out a knife and placed it to the victim’s back and said, "Give me your wallet." Read more...

Playstation purloined

07/22/2009

A 17-year-old boy was walking near 1540 W. Roosevelt at 7:35 p.m. July 19 when two men, one wearing a white hat and a white shirt, the other wearing a brown jacket and Nike shoes approached and said, “Let me see your PSP.” The second man demanded again, Read more...

Inside job

07/15/2009

A security guard at the Sears store located at 2 N. State watched an employee take a pair of Adidas shoes valued at $69.99 from a shelf and put them on his feet while he was working at 7:30 a.m. July 12. Read more...

Traffic ruins theft attempt

07/08/2009

A valet was parking a vehicle near 500 S. Lake Shore Dr. June 28 at 6:10 p.m. when he saw an unauthorized man enter his valet booth. The offender removed keys for the valet’s personal vehicle, a black Oldsmobile Alero, found the car in the nearby parking lot and drove off in the car. Read more...

YMCA office scuffle

07/01/2009

An employee at the YMCA facility located at 11 E. Adams told police on June 10 at 10:10 a.m. that a woman attacked her over a dispute regarding a chair in one of the classrooms. The YMCA program director and some office staff members tried to resolve the dispute, but the offender then turned over an office cubicle and started to destroy a nearby desk. Read more...

Is the neighbor poisoning my dog?

06/24/2009

A man was showering at his apartment in the 200 block of E. Cullerton June 19 at 12:45 a.m when he noticed his neighbor spray some type of chemical into his dog’s litter box, which was located on his balcony. Read more...

Online pal racks up $11K

06/17/2009

A woman who lives in the Loop told police that on June 10 at 11:50 a.m. she befriended a man named Tyrone online. The man asked the woman to issue him a Black Titanium American Express card. The woman agreed only if the man would send her a personal check to cover future charges. Read more...

Robbery in Dearborn Park II

06/10/2009

Police responded to a call of a robbery near 1240 S. Plymouth June 7 at 11:20 p.m. by three males wearing red baseball caps. On their way to the scene, police observed three men matching that description on the subway platform located at 1167 S. State. Read more...

Thwarted by the boot

06/03/2009

A man got in to his 2005 Lincoln Town Car, which had been booted for unpaid ticket violations, at 200 N. Wabash May 21 at noon and attempted to drive away. Police converged on the vehicle because they thought the man was trying to damage the boot, but it turned out the he hadn’t realized his car had been booted. Read more...