Prospect Heights police address safety, gangs on the east side
Prospect Heights Police Chief William Caponigro and other members of his department spoke with residents of the city's east side Thursday evening about the cooperation that can get their neighborhoods' juvenile gang activity under control.
His top message: Law-abiding residents' immigration status is of no interest to the police when open communication is the key to stopping these gang crimes.
“Don't let anyone tell you otherwise,” Caponigro said during the neighborhood safety meeting for Prospect Heights' Piper Lane, Wimbledon Circle and River Trails communities. “We don't care where you're from or how you got here. We as a police department need your help.”
He explained that real-time reporting of illegal and suspicious activity by these juvenile gang members -- including descriptions of clothing, cars, and exact locations -- would help officers address these problems and keep residents safe.
He further explained that one can call 911 virtually anonymously by declining to be seen by an officer when the operator asks.
The department's new social worker, Rosangela Maldonado, who previously worked for Arlington Heights and in victim advocacy for the Cook County state's attorney's office, also spoke to residents and translated for Spanish-speakers.
Caponigro said the problems in the area are being caused by about 12 to 15 boys in their early teens.
Residents were particularly concerned for their own children and asked whether police could be present when they're coming home from school.
While staffing levels prevent officers from being everywhere, a new policy ensures one or two are always present in their area of the city, Caponigro said.
Late last October, about 40 rounds of ammunition were fired at Willow Trails Park in Prospect Heights toward the residences of rival gang members. No one was injured.
The area remained quiet for two months after that until a boy was shot in the lower back on the 800 block of Piper Lane at the end of December.
The boy's injury was not life-threatening, but Caponigro believed that may have been due to the quick intervention of his officers. One on patrol heard the shot.