Hanover Park shines light on crime

Can a few strategically placed lights cut down on crime?

Hanover Park thinks so.

The village voted Thursday to approve spending about $10,000 on security lighting at the behest of the police department.

The decision reinstates a public safety grant program the village tried out a couple years ago.

"We saw a significant improvement and felt it was valuable," said Hanover Park Police Chief Ron Moser. "Well-lit areas are clearly associated with reductions in crime."

The village chips in 50 percent of the installation costs, with the rest coming from the neighborhood association.

The program targets multifamily neighborhoods. This initial round of funding will assist the Larkspur subdivision near Barrington and Irving Park roads and Westline Apartments at Barrington and Ontarioville roads.

Larkspur and Westline were selected by police based on crime analysis, the high number of service calls and input by street officers.

Moser said the most common calls concern suspicious persons, car burglaries and other nuisance crimes like vandalism and graffiti.

But Larkspur Association President Shirley Pitsenbarger says the area is teeming with gang activity and has implored the village board for help in the past.

She says she has witnessed drug deals, fighting and drinking in the street and says the problems are especially bad in the area surrounding Bristol Lane and Kingsbury Drive. Nearby Ranger Park is a frequent target for graffiti and loiterers, she said.

Though it's just a street lamp and a handful of floodlights with motion detectors mounted on poles and walls, Moser said a little light can do a world of good.

The grant program is set up so Pitsenbarger and the association select their own contractor, and then the village pays half upon completion and final inspection of the project.

Village Manager Marc Hummel said the program has a $50,000 budget and that more neighborhoods are currently under review.