Elgin crime at 49-year low, down 3% in 2020 from 2019

The crime rate in Elgin hit a 49-year low last year and serious crime fell 3% from 2019 to 2020, according to the Elgin Police Department's annual report released Friday.

Police Chief Ana Lalley acknowledged the pandemic makes it difficult to interpret some of the data but said the fall in crime "does not happen by accident."

"I think that's a combination of the people in this building who do amazing work every single day and our community who are amazing and engage with us," she said.

Overall, the data showed 1,619 serious crimes reported in 2020, compared to 1,665 the previous year. The largest reductions were in burglaries and robberies, which fell 26% and 23% respectively.

Arson fell by 50%, but from two in 2019 to one last year. One homicide was reported, same as 2019.

The largest increases were in assaults, which doubled, and motor vehicle theft, which increased from 55 in 2019 to 100 in 2020.

The high assault numbers are largely attributed to the increased number of gunfire incidents, which are reported as assault regardless of whether injuries are involved. Lalley said the higher motor vehicle theft numbers stemmed from a spate of thefts in western Elgin later in the year where arrests were made.

The number of shots-fired incidents are part of a national trend, Lalley said.

Elgin experienced a 103% increase in gunfire incidents from 2019 to 2020. In the 63 reported incidents, 12 victims were struck by gunfire and one died from his injuries. That's an increase of 33% from 2019, when nine victims were struck.

Objects were struck by gunfire in 31 incidents, which included 19 building structures and 14 vehicles. In some incidents, more than one piece of property was struck. Many of the reports were attributed to people shooting up in the air, Lalley said.

While the injuries are relatively few compared to the number of incidents, Lalley called the gunfire "unacceptable."

"This will be our priority this year, continuing to try and reduce the gunfire incidents," she said.

Lalley said transparency in reporting shots fired on social media, which include any incident where evidence is found, is a double-edged sword.

"If we only put the number of people struck, it would be 12," Lalley said. "But since we have all these other incidents when a building is struck or nothing is struck but we find evidence, people say, 'Wow, it's out of control.'"

"To me, transparency means that you have to say everything, and then you have to explain it," she said. "If you don't tell people what's happening, how do you expect them to be involved in the conversation of helping to make the community safe?"

Lalley said she expects to receive a report from the Center for Policing Equity, which is based on 2019 data, in the coming months.

"Depending on what they find, that's going to kind of guide our initiatives and some of our programs and some of our strategies," she said. The research center collects data and helps law enforcement agencies identify ways to improve the relationship with communities they serve.

Another focus will be staffing and succession planning, as she expects an increase in retirements in the department, a trend that has already started. She said the department expects that in the next three to four years, approximately 50% of the officers will have less than five years on the job.

Five positions are now open, with the department's police academy starting in March.