Reason for hope in Hanover Park

It was spring 2009 when Hanover Park was reeling from four murders in two weeks and a spate of gang violence.

Village leaders and residents were justifiably concerned and demanded answers.

The response included a new policing strategy that was in the works and was quickly implemented to address the problems.

Its aim was to get to know people in the community, and nearly two years later, we are hopeful there are signs of a turnaround under way in the village.

A report released last week shows that in 2010 Hanover Park recorded its lowest major crime figures since it started keeping track.

There were 587 major crimes last year — murder, criminal sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault/battery, burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft and arson — or an 11 percent decrease from 2009, according to the information sent to the FBI. The figures include no murders and a decline in aggravated assault/batteries from 49 in 2009 to 24 in 2010.

While it's become apparent the spring 2009 murder wave was an anomaly, the 2010 figures are encouraging — there were routinely 1,500 major crimes in the village in the 1970s and 80s.

Police should be optimistic over what they accomplished in 2010, but not content.

We urge them to study the first-year results and look for ways tweak their approach to foster even greater improvements.

Police credit their ART program — Area Response Teams — for most of the changes.

ART features teams of four officers and a sergeant assigned to geographic beats for one year, allowing them to know their areas and its residents while growing a vested interest in what goes on there.

It features plenty of opportunities for police to talk with other officers in the department and with residents in quarterly meetings and through a revitalized Neighborhood Watch program to exchange ideas and information.

The village also has added police officers and provides e-mail alerts on crime to interested residents. It has a safe homes program in which officers and a social worker visit homes of kids who might be associating with gangs.

“We're looking for ways that we can take the information we can get from our environment, our residents, from our crime states, from trends and use it to do a better job at suppressing and even preventing criminal activity,” Hanover Park Police Lt. Andy Johnson told the Daily Herald's Kim Pohl.

It's similar to community policing strategies in Mundelein, Rolling Meadows and Elgin.

The common theme in such programs stresses interaction with residents and building trust.

Someday, we hope we can say Hanover Park's plan is a model for others to follow.