Crime drops in Vernon Hills

Reports of serious crime in Vernon Hills held steady last year, and overall crime dropped.

Police reported 729 incidents of serious crime in 2010, a statistical tie with the year before. While one of the few murders in village history occurred last April, most other categories, such as robberies and burglaries to motor vehicles, dropped.

An increase in the number of thefts, up nearly 16 percent to 542 in 2010, offset those declines, however.

“The economy probably had something to do with it,” said Cmdr. Rick Davies. “Some stores have employed more security people. They see more stuff going on and make more arrests.”

Less serious crimes, like deceptive practice and disorderly conduct, for example, dropped nearly 10 percent from 2009 with 687 reported incidents last year.

“All in all, I’m pretty happy with the way things are in Vernon Hills,” Davies said.

“We rarely have the physical altercation-type crimes here, the robberies, things of that nature.”

No robberies, in which property is taken by force, were reported in 2010, compared to six in 2009. One already has been reported this year but police quickly apprehended a man who wielded a BB gun and made off with cash from a minimart on Jan. 16.

Because of its numerous commercial areas, including Westfield Hawthorn shopping center, Vernon Hills police are used to dealing with reports of stolen items, either from stores or cars.

But even those crimes dropped, police said. Burglary to motor vehicles fell nearly 30 percent to 119 reports in 2010, compared to 169 in 2009.

“We have a tremendous amount of them,” Davies said. “Most of the time, it’s a crime of opportunity. People are careless.”

Police Chief Mark Fleischhauer in an online message to residents said that more than 90 percent of burglaries to motor vehicles and 60 percent of the thefts could have been “easily” prevented with common-sense practices, such as locking the vehicle, not leaving valuables in plain view and not leaving items like cell phones or purses unattended.

“One would expect during this recession that crime would increase significantly. I’m happy to report that this has not been the case here in Vernon Hills,” he said.