Naperville combating recent string of violent crimes
Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres is responding to numerous inquiries from residents about a string of recent violent crimes in the city.
Arres didn't reveal details about the investigations in a video message posted on the police department's social media accounts. But he said steps are being taken to prevent future violent crimes.
"These are obviously very serious crimes, and we acknowledge that," Arres said. "One of the questions we've been asked, and should be asked, is, 'What are we doing about it?' And the answer to that is, a lot."
A vehicular hijacking occurred July 5 on the 1200 block of South Naper Boulevard. Then on July 9, there was an armed robbery at a gas station on the 0-100 block of East Ogden Avenue. A shot was fired July 9 after an altercation among groups of individuals near the 100 block of West Jackson Avenue.
Crime Stoppers offered rewards for information leading to arrests in the armed robbery and the discharge of the weapon.
Arres said the key to solving each crime is information from the public.
"(The) shots fired call is the perfect example of something that may have been able to be prevented," he said. "We found out after the fact that there was a fight among more than a dozen individuals in a parking lot 15 minutes before the shot was fired.
"However, during this altercation," he said, "no one called us about the fight."
Arres said the six-month crime stats for 2022 will be released soon. He said confirmed shots fired calls are half what they were through the first six months of last year, and armed robberies are down compared to this point in 2021 and 2020.
According to Arres, there were 1,500 more traffic stops in the first six months of 2022 compared to last year. Police officials have seized 71 illegal guns so far in 2022, which is more than were seized in all of 2021.
"This is not meant to minimize the seriousness of the recent crimes that have occurred," Arres said. "It's just important to point out that we continue to remain a very safe city."