Humboldt Park CAPS Meeting

The Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) of the 25th district met on Thursday, March 26 at 1701 N. Tripp Ave in Humboldt Park.

Held by Sgt. Jon Carter, Officer Casey and Community Policing Officer Flores of the 25th district, the meeting addressed many issues including gang and drug violence, theft, house break-ins and prostitution.

Flores said that many addressed issues of the previously held CAPS meeting had been identified and solved. The Humboldt Park neighborhood has been experiencing a “rise in gang loitering and theft,” according to the officers in the area.

Blocks within the neighborhood that are labeled gang and loitering “hot spots” include the 1600 block of Keeler Ave., the 1500 block of Pulaski Ave. and the 1400 block of N. Kildare Ave. Hot Spots are defined by how many arrests police have made on a particular block, how many 911 calls they receive and the amount of people that file police reports for that area. Selling drugs have been a “14-year problem” on these blocks.

“We are on these blocks and continue to be on these blocks,” said Flores.

As many of the people living in Humboldt Park and attending these CAPS meetings are native Spanish speakers and aren’t fluent in English, officer Flores decided to call in an officer that was able to translate their problems throughout the meeting.

Much of the community was expressing a feeling of anxiety within their neighborhood and said that the problems start to arise particularly when the schools are let out for the evening and when the weather becomes warmer. The police said that they are doing all that they can in order to prevent crimes from taking place, but much of the problem is that people are afraid to come forward to them with information.

“The faster you guys call us, the faster we are going to get these guys,” said Casey.

The officers made a point that calls to 911 can be anonymous and people shouldn’t think twice about calling them. Casey said that people within the community should not be afraid to call the police if they feel there is a problem and that people shouldn’t try and solve the problem themselves.

“It’s not worth putting your life in jeopardy,” said Casey. “Call us, take a picture; never let race, age, sex or anything determine how tough someone is.”

Casey said that since October of 2008, there has been a rise in muggings on Pulaski Ave., Kildare Ave. and Division St. during all times of the day and evening and that those robberies are their “strongest problem” at this time. They have found that mostly all of the victims in this area just had got off the bus and were on their cell phones.

“We always ask the people where they were before being robbed,” said Casey. “Mostly all just got off the bus, then were followed.”

Casey said that because of the economic downturn, people have been becoming more reliant on cash money and that you shouldn’t walk around with a lot of money in your pockets.

“People are doing anything because they are so desperate for fast cash,” said Casey. “Be Careful who you see when walking around, being on your cell phone or I pod and avoid using alleys.”

According the Flores, using surveillance cameras has been a somewhat effective solution to preventing small-scale crime, but it criminals are still continuing to commit illegal acts on camera.

“Just the other day a man was stabbed to death,” said Flores. “All of it was caught on tape; people just don’t care about the cameras, so we need your help.”

Problems that will be addressed at the next meeting include talks of creating more programs for children to go to after school and how the police used the information at the last meeting to solve crimes, particularly with gang violence. Every CAPS meeting allows for everyone to have a turn speaking and encourages advice for police on how they can make their neighborhood safer.

CAPS meetings for Humboldt Park are held at the DCF Church at 1701 N. Tripp Ave. The next meeting is April 23 at 7p.m.