Supplied by the Evanston Police Department
On Aug. 3, the Evanston Police Department reassigned five members – four officers and a sergeant – of the Community Policing Unit to patrol for what is anticipated to be a minimum 60-day temporary duty assignment. This drastic step is necessary due to the continued staffing shortages faced by the Department.
The reduction in Community Policing Unit will impact the Department’s ability to service the needs of the Community along with Council members and the requests for police services brought to them by their constituents. Three officers will remain in the Community Policing Unit. These officers will focus on continuing outreach with the Hispanic Community and addressing downtown and Main Street panhandling and quality of life issues. Furthermore, Community Policing Unit officers assigned to patrol will continue to maintain their community contacts while on-duty.
As a result of these reassignments and service reductions, the Department’s community engagement programs, including the Citizen’s Police Academy, will be postponed. Community engagement and education content posted on the Department’s social media platforms will decrease.
The reduction in the Community Policing Unit comes after a previous reduction in Detective Bureau coverage and service. Previously, the Detective Bureau provided coverage from 7 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. every day of the year. Due to the coverage reduction, the Detective Bureau coverage is now 7 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Monday – Friday with a on-call schedule for weekends.
As part of service reductions the Detective Bureau is no longer routinely assigning detectives to investigate the following crimes:
- Misdemeanor thefts and retail thefts where the suspect is not identifiable.
- Misdemeanor criminal damage to property where the suspect is not identifiable.
- Trespassing and burglaries, including vehicle, garage, residential, and commercial, where no comparable physical evidence is recovered and the suspect is not identifiable.
- Stolen vehicles where no comparable physical evidence is recovered and the suspect is not identifiable.
- Financial crimes where the victim has not incurred a monetary loss and the suspect is not identifiable.
- Crimes with victims that decline forensic services.
- Crimes with victims who do not wish to sign a criminal complaint.
The staffing shortage presently stands at 26 sworn vacancies and six civilian vacancies. In addition to these vacancies, there are presently seven sworn members and two civilian members that are not available for full duty assignments. The overtime and forcebacks created by the sustained shortage has had a negative impact on the health and well-being of Evanston Department personnel, making these reassignments and service reductions necessary.
I am one of many of neighbors not happy with the decision made by the Evanston Police Department to re assign Officer Adam Howard and other community policing officer out of the 5th Ward community. It may be a temporary change I hope will not be tolerated if it becomes a reality going forward. Coupled with community policing system’s attention, organized block club organizations, CM Bobby Burns monthly 5 th Ward meetings and more helps to stabilize our community. I don’t want it to change…
It’s short-sighted to eliminate or reduce community policing. Officer Howard in the 5th Ward is an example of an “Officer Friendly” who will give a hug as well as a firm warning for disobeying laws and disturbing the peace. We only read about crimes in the media but policing involves more than arresting people who are criminal suspects. There are programs for youth, listed on the EPD web site.
https://www.cityofevanston.org/government/departments/police/problem-solving-team/police-explorer-program
If they would be affected due to lack of resources, the City should put out a call to recruit more applicants for the vacated positions.
This situation regarding insufficient police staffing has been a problem for quite awhile now. So the question I have is this – how did we get we get to this point and what is the city council doing to address the situation? This is getting serious.
Is this the moment people realize that less police/ budget translates into less services and support available for you? These changes made are simply status quo for other police departments. Evanston had more going on for itself than other cities and now as staffing issues persist they’re needing to -put aside some bells and whistles to focus on core mission.