Immediacy's vital in reporting crime

The work of a police department goes beyond arresting criminals and ticketing traffic law violators, as important as both duties are in their own right in keeping the public safe.

It is also critical that police inform residents of crimes in their community. And immediately communicating, to the public, what is going on in their community when there is suddenly much police activity.

The Warrenville police department failed miserably in both regards in its handling of a crime early Saturday morning in which three people were injured. In that incident, shots were fired and police barricaded a Warrenville neighborhood. But people who clearly had to be worried or at least curious about what was going on, were left without explanations or details.

About 150 frustrated and angry residents went to city hall on Tuesday to demand answers. Why wasn't there a story in the newspapers? Why weren't their calls to police returned?

They couldn't have been happy with what they heard.

Police said they left reverse 911 messages with some residents indicating they were looking for a gun. But when asked, nobody at Tuesday's meeting reported getting such a call.

Police Chief Ray Turano said a news release on the incident was available late Saturday afternoon to any reporter who called asking for it. The police chief said he knew of no calls from the Daily Herald. But Daily Herald reporters who made calls to Warrenville this past weekend were told nothing significant had happened.

By Tuesday, the public finally learned that an arrest had been made in the incident and charges filed, and that there was no imminent threat to their safety.

This is either a huge communication breakdown, an attempt to keep things quiet or a failure to appreciate the urgency of immediately getting out information on a crime that involved a gun and required the barricading of a neighborhood. Hardly jaywalking.

And there sure are holes in the police chief's defense of his department's response.

But it's good to hear Turano say he will take necessary steps to make sure news on crimes does get out to residents.

Warrenville isn't the only police department to hesitate to release information on crimes on a timely basis. What purpose does this serve, other than invite rumors and heighten anxiety or, in Warrenville's case, anger the public?

Sure there are times when it is important to hold some information back at the risk of jeopardizing an investigation. And we don't expect police to drop all they are doing in investigating a breaking crime to answer questions from reporters and the public.

But there are police departments that have figured out how to accommodate requests for information while conducting an investigation, and not compromising it. They even view responding to such requests as truly being in the public's and the department's best interests. We hope that this will be the attitude adopted by the Warrenville Police Department.