BUCKTOWN — Cases of simple battery were down while motor vehicle thefts were up in the neighborhood, police said Wednesday at a packed Beat 1434 CAPS meeting.
Sgt. Felipe Reyes shared the news at the meeting held at the Bucktown-Wicker Park Library, 1701 N. Milwaukee Ave.
The beat is bordered by Armitage Avenue on the north, North Avenue on the south, Wood Street on the east and Rockwell Street on the west.
Reyes said crime "mostly stayed about the same" for the current period from Aug. 21 to Oct. 16.
The most significant decrease was simple battery, which had a 31 percent decline from the prior two-month period, with just 15 reports as compared to 22 from July 20 through Aug. 20.
The largest increase was in motor vehicle thefts, with 13 automobile stolen as compared to seven previously, Reyes said, adding there is "no rhyme or reason" to the auto thefts.
There were 50 arrests made in Beat 1434 during the recent period, with 15 of those arrests considered to be "impact arrests," involving issues of concern to residents such as graffiti and drunken driving.
Arrest highlights in the two-month period included three DUIs, two burglary arrests, and four arrests for criminal defacement to property.
In one instance, a 26-year-old man with a bag of markers was observed around 10 p.m. Sept. 29 to be tagging the word "PEZ" on a wall in the 2300 block of Milwaukee Avenue. The Hoffman Estates resident had a glass pipe and black tar or hashish on him when he was arrested, Reyes said.
Beat 1434 CAPS meetings generally meets at 6:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of every even-numbered month at the Bucktown-Wicker library.
For information, contact the Shakespeare District Community Policing Office at 312-744-8290 or CAPS.014District@chicagopolice.org.
