Sheriff releases crime stats, says he needs more officers on patrol
It was a busy 2010 for Kane County Sheriff's officers, according to crime statistics released Friday.
But Sheriff Pat Perez said busy is exactly what his department can't afford to be with current staffing levels, as the fight for manpower continues.
Deputies responded to nearly 29,000 calls during the year. By far, most of the calls related to some type of traffic incident or stop. However, the office was also plenty busy responding to problems relating to the poor economy. Deputies oversaw 685 evictions in 2010. That number may rise in 2011 as some housing industry experts expect the number of foreclosures to increase another 20 percent over last year.
Comparison data is unavailable as the sheriff's office switched to a new reporting system at the end of 2009. However, 2010 appeared to be a year with a notable amount of crime in several areas. Kane County totaled 349 thefts, 358 burglaries, 129 batteries and 49 bomb threats, according to Perez.
If those numbers continue in 2011, sheriff's officers may find themselves with an overwhelming caseload. Perez said Friday on-the-job injuries and maternity and military leaves have left the department with only an average of six officers patrolling the entire county at any one time.
“That's not sufficient,” he said.
Perez has shifted officers out of investigations and other departments to help shore up the patrol staff on an interim basis, but that doesn't help him with his overall staffing issues right now, he said.
“I'm down seven deputies and have a total of 75 active officers right now,” Perez said. “You're going to see a spike in my overtime because I have to find the spots just to have the minimum number of people on patrol.”
County board members asked Perez if there was any way he could bring more deputies on with a temporary status while awaiting injuries to heal and officers to return from leave. Perez said that idea wouldn't work.
“It's not like a factory where I can just put someone on one end of line from someplace else on the line,” Perez said.
There are currently no plans for the county board to authorize Perez to add more staff.
Sheriff's top service calls
The Kane County Sheriff's Department's top 10 incidents or calls for service in 2010:
1. Traffic stops (6,762)
2. Citizen assist (2,017)
3. Accidents (1,692)
4. Assisting another deputy (1,528)
5. Disabled vehicle (1,514)
6. Suspicious activity (1,349)
7. Burglar alarm (1,348)
8. Warrant service (1,219)
9. Suspicious person (1,097)
10. General service (849)
<i>Source: Kane County Sheriff's Office</i>