THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2008
Bringing The HEAT
New Mt. Prospect Police Program Starts Off With Bang
By RICHARD MAYER
Journal Reporter
The heat is on.
Mt. Prospect police, out in full force last Thursday to kick-off the department's Hotspot Enforcement & Assistance Team (HEAT) program, with some help from Rosemont Police, arrested one individual and talked to others to help fight crime that may be occurring in certain parts of the village.
Approximately 20 officers from the two departments, along with a canine from Rosemont, patrolled the area around Dempster Street and Algonquin Road after officers made an unexpected visit to the Boxwood neighborhood near Randhurst Mall.
At around 5 p.m., Mt. Prospect police received a call from Cook County police that a few underage boys were trying to physically harm a Cook County officer.
Prior to heading to the south end of the village, officers congregated up north and tried to calm the issue at hand.
When police arrived on the scene at Boxwood, numerous residents were yelling and screaming at police.
"People are upset and emotional, but our job is to demonstrate to the community that we are here and to rest assured that the community has control, not the individuals who are going to cause problems," said Police Chief John Dahlberg.
Dahlberg said there have been occasions in the past when certain teenagers or other individuals in the area would charge people money to pass through the neighborhood, and if they didn't pay, they wouldn't be able to leave or enter their own neighborhood.
"That's just one example," said Dahlberg.
Dahlberg said the three minors who were arrested by Cook County police last Thursday have interfered with Mt. Prospect police from doing their job. He said the teenagers have blocked police from entering the area by forming a "wall" or even threatening the officers by pretending to shoot them.
Once the situation in the Boxwood area calmed down, police traveled to the Cinnamon Cove condos at Dempster Street and Algonquin Road, where they originally were going to be stationed at the beginning of the night.
Officers went from store to store talking to business owners and checking people to make sure they didn't possess any weapons or drugs.
Shortly after police began walking, they encountered two men who were drinking alcohol outside in a park.
One of the individuals was arrested for violating the village's ordinance pertaining to open public liquor. He was arrested for being highly intoxicated and possessing no identification. When police asked him questions in Spanish, he had difficulty speaking because he was impaired.
Managers of the nearby 7-Eleven gas station were pleased to see the officers' presence and determination to put an end to the crime in that area.
"Just a couple of days ago (early last week), people were fighting right outside," said Salmon Nayab, manager. "In addition to fighting, people are selling drugs on the side of the gas station, and even urinating."
Another manager, Aman Shah, said most of the activity occurs on weekends, but it also occurs during the week usually between 6-11 p.m.
Operation HEAT is a program with two specific goals.
The first goal is improving communication between residents and the police department in areas of the community where reported criminal data as well as the nature and frequency of 911 calls for service suggest underlying maintenance of order issues exist.
The second goal is to identify and arrest criminal wrongdoers and enforce a wide spectrum of village ordinances that will address maintenance of order and quality of life issues faced by residents in the affected neighborhoods.
"The first night went very well and people were very receptive, especially the storeowners," said Dahlberg. "Even though we only made the one arrest, we made a lot of great contacts and people shared information with our detectives about burglaries that have occurred in the area. I am very pleased with the positive contacts we made."
Dahlberg added the police attempted to serve numerous warrants that night, but were unsuccessful. However, when police attempted to serve one warrant, the individual was talking to his wife from out of town and told police when he gets back in town a few days later he would voluntarily turn himself in.
As part of HEAT, as many as 24 officers will hit the street every Thursday through Sept. 11 to saturate specific geographic locations within the village. Officers assigned to HEAT will maintain high visibility and seek out residents and business owners in an effort to improve communications and gain additional perspective and intelligence information about individuals or groups of individuals responsible for neighborhood crime and quality of life issues.
"The evening went how we wanted it to go," said Dahlberg. "If people are honest and hard working, they have nothing to be afraid of." Deputy Chief of Field Operations Robert Rzepecki will oversee the field implementation and coordination of HEAT's activities. Crime Free Housing trained officers and the director of the department's Crime Free Housing Program, Pat Lyons, will also serve as members of HEAT.
HEAT will operate with a late afternoon outdoor roll call at a prominent location within a designated "hotspot." Officers will then deploy in patrol vehicles, on foot and on bicycles to saturate the designated "hotspot" with department personnel.