Elgin crime on positive trend despite recent incidents

Two recent armed robberies in Elgin blunted the good news this week that burglaries and most major crimes continue on a downward trend in the city.

In her monthly crime stats show and weekly radio program, Elgin Police Chief Ana Lalley discussed crime trends in the city this week. The most serious offenses, such as violent crimes, are down 12% from last year as of the end of August. That comes despite a slight uptick in drug and narcotic arrests from last year. Meanwhile, the second-most-serious class of offenses is up 5% from last year. But Lalley suggested that's a good statistic because it means officers are being more aggressive with DUI arrests that keep streets safe.

Overall, crime is down 5% in the city from last year, but Lalley said comparisons to 2020 are difficult because of the pandemic.

"It was a very unique year with COVID-19 and the restrictions with the stay-at-home orders," Lalley said. "We've never had something like that happen before.

One big highlight is a 48% decrease in burglaries in the city compared to last year. Despite a recent spate of car burglaries, Lalley attributed that stat, as well as an overall five-year downward trend in burglaries to people doing a good job with removing valuables from their cars and locking them overnight.

That good news contrasted against two recent armed robberies in the city that police are investigating. The first armed robbery happened on Sept. 16 at a store on the 700 block of Walnut Avenue. There were no injuries, but the robber took cash from the store after brandishing a handgun.

The second armed robbery happened Wednesday at a business on the 800 block of Dundee Avenue. That robbery involved two male suspects and what appeared to be a handgun. The store clerk in that incident received a minor injury as the suspects took money and fled.

Lalley said the incidents are not necessarily related, though that is a possibility police consider when investigating similar incidents within a short time frame. She said officers have strong leads on the Walnut Avenue armed robbery, and they expect to have the case resolved within the next week.

Finally, Elgin has now logged its 45th shots-fired incident. That number is identical to the number of gunfire crimes the city logged at this same time last year.