As Elgin records 38th gunfire incident, chief looks to improve community relationships
Elgin has recorded its 38th shots fired incident Thursday night, continuing an uptick of gunfire in the city.
No one was hurt, and no property was damaged, but police responded to the 300 block of South Belmont Avenue just before 9 p.m. and found evidence of a shooting on the scene.
During her weekly radio show Friday, Police Chief Ana Lalley said community residents have been forthcoming with providing police with information in similar incidents, and she hopes that continues with this shooting.
"We had a quiet few weeks, but sometimes shots happen and people think they are fireworks and don't even call," she said.
Lalley said events like the recent National Night Out block parties go a long way in creating better relationships among police officers and community members. More trust leads to more cooperation in shooting incidents like the one Thursday.
"It could be a couple months, and someone comes forward," she said. "Maybe they were hesitant at first. They are afraid to give information because of retaliation. They don't want to get involved."
The shooting is the 38th such incident in the city this year. That's about five more than the city saw by this time last year, but the city is on track for two straight years of increased gunfire.
Lalley also pointed to efforts to create a new Youth Empowerment Program to help keep young people on the right track and reduce local gang activity. The spotlight is on the program as it is an effort to address racial disparities in the number of Black and Hispanic youths arrested in the city. Local advocates have also pushed to eliminate police contact with juveniles that gets young people stuck in the criminal justice system when social service programs might be a better option.
Lalley agrees with that idea, but said the police department will have contact with juveniles for as long as the community continues to call 911 to report incidents like young people fighting in the streets.
"I can't stop people from calling the police," Lalley said. "When they call us, they get us involved."
The Youth Empowerment program is designed to address less serious offenses with home visits by a potential mentor, faith group and/or social service provider rather than police. Lally said she's looking at short-term goals of getting more community members and providers involved with the program, and longer-term goals of actually seeing the impact of a new program.
"Five years from now, 100% you are going to see a difference," she said. "Right now, we are still reaching out to community partners. It's going to be evolving."