Elgin shootings at 8-year high, but overall violent crime stays low

The number of shootings hit an eight-year high in Elgin in 2015, and they will be a major focus of police efforts this year, officials said.

Still, the amount of violent crime - which includes homicides, robberies, batteries, assaults and sexual assaults - was less than that in all years except 2014 dating back to 2004. And the overall level of crime to people and property was at a 43-year low, Police Chief Jeff Swoboda said Friday, when police released crime data for 2015.

"We know the victims are not comforted by the statistics," he said. "If you've been a victim of a crime, shootings going up or down doesn't matter."

Last year there were 58 shootings in Elgin with a total of 21 victims, including four homicides. Twenty-one shootings took place on the west side and 36 on the east side; one is classified as "unknown" because the victim refused to tell police.

That's compared to 44 shootings with 10 victims in 2014, including two homicides and one death that later was ruled self-defense. There were 57 shootings in 2008.

A larger number of shootings last year were classified as not gang-related, although that often depends on whether victims are being forthright or not, Swoboda said. Also, none of the shootings appeared to be random or accidental, Swoboda said.

"I'm convinced that in the vast majority of these shootings, the offender and the victim know each other," he said. "They may not tell us they know each other, so we can't prove it, but they are known associates of some sort."

The number of shootings held steady compared to 2014 through July and then took a turn upward, police said.

"We looked at the calls and we analyzed them, and there is no rhyme or reason (for the increase)," Swoboda said, pointing out 2014 posted an all-time low for violent crime. "There is just more of them this (past) year."

Killed last year in Elgin were Daniel Figueroa and Rueben Duncan, whose murders are unsolved; Lynn Stephens, who was shot by her husband, Donald, in a murder-suicide; and Devonte Turner, for whose murder an Elgin man was arrested and charged.

Last year there were 49 aggravated assaults - intended as verbal threats while holding weapons - compared to 29 in 2014, and 64 robberies in both years. Batteries, which are physical assaults, increased from 77 to 82.

On the positive side, the number of burglaries sharply declined, which Swoboda attributed to good beat policing - including keeping an eye on felons released from prison - and new community initiatives such as a Spanish-language Citizens Police Academy, conversational "Coffee with a Cop" meetings with residents, and assisting residents and business owners in setting up and maintaining video security systems.

There were 271 vehicle burglaries in 2015, compared to 357 in 2014, and 253 commercial and residential burglaries in 2015, compared to 299 in 2014, police said. Thefts decreased by 18 percent and stolen vehicles decreased by 16 percent.

The police department has been focusing on burglaries and thefts via its predictive policing software, which allows police to assign shift officers to areas where such crimes are most likely to occur, Deputy Chief Bill Wolf said.

"Each shift is expected to spend enough time in troubled neighborhoods," he said.

There were 2,659 crimes in Elgin in 1972, when the population was about 55,000; in 2015, there were 1,854 crimes with double the population.

"Obviously that's something we are very proud of," Swoboda said. "It's much safer now, but the fact that the information (about crimes) is given out by us routinely, every day, people have a feeling it's much more dangerous."

Elgin crime data, 2015 vs. 2014

Elgin crime data, 2015 vs. 2014

Homicides: 4 in 2015 vs. 2 in 2014

Shootings/Victims: 58/21 vs. 44/10

Assaults: 49 vs. 29

Residential/commercial burglaries: 253 vs. 299

Vehicle burglaries: 271 vs. 357

Thefts: 1011 vs. 1233

Vehicle thefts: 67 vs. 80