Orland Park Police Chief: Index Crimes Down 34 Percent In The Village

Orland Park IL

22 September, 2020

5:06 PM

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From the Richard Free Press: By Jon DePaolis ORLAND PARK, Ill. — Crime in Orland Park is down substantially from last year, according to Orland Park officials. Police Chief Joseph Mitchell detailed the drop in crime Monday, Sept. 21, during the Village of Orland Park Board of Trustees meeting. In his presentation, he detailed "index crimes," which are crimes against persons and property and include homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault and aggravated battery, burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. "We've seen a substantial decrease in the number of crimes occurring in Orland Park — a 34% decrease, year to date, and a 16% decrease just in the month of August [comparing 2019 to 2020]," Mitchell said. He said burglaries are down 64% from 2019 and credited that to Orland Park police officers doing many check-ins on businesses. "That is unheard of, quite frankly, in the 26 years I've been here to have that much of a decrease," Mitchell said. However, Mitchell said vehicle thefts are up in 2020 despite efforts by police to ask the public to lock their vehicles at night and not leave keys or fobs in their automobiles. Overall, though, the stats were good news for Orland Park. "In 2019, we had the lowest amount [of index crimes] in 25 years," Mitchell said. "Hopefully, this year, we will eclipse that. We realize that COVID-19 has [played a role] in that, but nevertheless the burglaries are down, and violent crime is about average." Additionally, Mayor Keith Pekau addressed concerns from the public about the safety of Orland Square Mall. He said a perception exists that the mall is not safe, but that the "facts" show a different story. He presented data from Crimecast that shows Orland Square Mall having fewer crimes in the 1- to 3-mile radius of the mall's footprint than nearby Woodfield Mall and Oak Brook Mall have in their areas. "We have a very safe mall," Pekau said. The stats shown at the meeting were a comparison of crimes committed in Orland Park from January to August in 2019 and 2020: Burglary 2019: 25 2020: 9 Theft 2019: 594 2020: 387 Motor vehicle theft 2019: 16 2020: 20 Arson 2019: 1 2020: 0 Criminal homicide 2019: 1 2020: 1 Rape 2019: 2 2020: 0 Robbery 2019: 7 2020: 4 Aggravated assault/aggravated battery 2019: 4 2020: 10 Village gives update on status of Sky Zone incident During the meeting, Orland Park officials also gave an update on the Sept. 12 incident at Sky Zone Trampoline Park that led to four arrests. When police responded to a call about a fight at the trampoline park, they discovered a lock-in was taking place with more than 800 children present — exceeding the building's capacity limit. The next day, Village officials announced that Orland Park would be taking steps to determine whether or not the incident merited revocation of Sky Zone's business license. During the Sept. 21 meeting, Pekau said the Village Board members cannot comment on the issue because they may have to adjudicate the matter. "They have been ticketed," he said of Sky Zone. "The process is that the Village manager will hear that case. The Village manager rules, and then they have the right to appeal that to us as a board." Village Attorney Dennis Walsh said a notice of the hearing on potential revocation of the business license was given to Sky Zone. That hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 30. Richard Free Press is a one-stop destination for the news that most affects you, the southwest suburban resident. Be an informed citizen of the town you live in and love.