How Naperville plans to rein in downtown disturbances

Despite recent high-profile incidents, Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres and city council members insist the vibrant downtown area remains safe for people visiting the shops and restaurants.

Arres spoke at Tuesday's city council meeting about recent criminal activity downtown, including a widely seen video from a couple of weeks ago showing a large gathering of young people causing disturbances. Arres said while there were no major issues at the Jaycees' Last Fling event, vandals damaged three storefronts on Washington Street over the weekend.

With so much negative attention focused on downtown - a critical piece of the city's economy - Arres addressed the steps being taken to ensure safety.

"Naperville has a lot to offer, and we want everyone to be able to enjoy it," he said. "But we expect that they'll do so safely and lawfully. Those that don't, I promise you, will be held accountable."

Councilman Josh McBroom brought up unreported thefts with the national retailers downtown. He stressed the need for businesses to cooperate with the police.

In May, Mayor Scott Wehrli spoke about increased reports of crime in downtown parking garages. He received unanimous support from the other council members to direct the city staff to research ways to keep the garages safer.

"It's important that we're not being alarmist," McBroom said. "Naperville is a safe town. But let's also be honest. It's nothing new. I've been hearing for a while that people are concerned on weekend nights going downtown."

Arres said more officers are deployed downtown during busy months, and special units supplement the presence during large events. He said he meets with downtown business owners to talk about safety and crime reporting.

But acknowledging officers can't be everywhere, he said the public must be vigilant and report criminal activity.

"Call 911 and let our officers respond - that is what they are paid to do," Arres said. "In some of the videos many of us have seen, there's a large group of people watching crimes being committed, and not one person is calling 911."

According to Arres, data from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31 over the last seven years indicate a rise in downtown crime the last two years, but not at an alarming rate.

He also said it's nothing out of the ordinary compared to previous years.

"This is not to minimize the seriousness of any of the crimes recently committed, or current events we've been seeing the last couple weeks," he said.

"Naperville is a safe city, but it's not a crime-free city."