Crashes, service calls drop for Campton Hills police

Traffic accidents in Campton Hills decreased by 39 percent from 2009 to 2010, along with other double-digit percentage drops in calls for service and other serious crimes, according to the police department’s annual report.

Police Chief Dan Hoffman said the men and women in his department are doing a good job despite limited resources.

“It’s not like we have a wave of crime I have to address,” he said, noting many of the village’s part-time officers are retired from other departments and have experience with a variety of situations. “We all pitch in here. Everybody pulls together to get the job done.”

In 2010, there were 81 “Type I” crimes, ranging from murder and assault to motor vehicle theft and burglary.

There were no homicides in Campton Hills and overall Type I crimes showed a drop of 37 percent from 2009.

Also, there were 4,843 calls for service in 2010, which was a decline of 13.5 percent compared to 2009. Some reasons for the drop are community policing, less people taking vacations and more awareness of the department’s jurisdiction.

The 2010 report also marks the third year of data for the new village, so officials can pinpoint trends.

Hoffman said the data is helpful, but despite a dip in calls and being under budget by $58,000 this year, he would not want to decrease the number of hours or officers on patrol because it could compromise safety.

Some other highlights of the report are:

Ÿ One in four traffic crashes in 2010 was deer-related. There were 161 crashes in the village last year and 40 were caused by deer. “That’s huge,” Hoffman said.

Ÿ The department received $46,208 in grant funding for special traffic detail, along with video cameras, GPS and laptops for patrol vehicles.

Ÿ Burglaries dropped 25 percent from 47 in 2009 to 35 in 2010.