BEAT 1431 CAPS
Meeting Minutes
January 7th, 2010

The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 7:00pm at Chase School, 2021 N. Point.

Officers Present: PO Smith, PO Komo, PO Nieves, SGT Belicki

Number of Beat 1431 residents present: 10

Go directly to the following sections:
General Announcements
CLEARMap
Court Advocacy
Reported Shots Fired Beat Map
Beat 1431 Section Reports

General Announcements

Safe Haven
SGT Belicki announced the Safe Haven Program partially sponsored by the Chicago Police Department. According to the CPD web site, a Safe Haven "is a place, usually a business, where youngsters, senior citizens and other individuals in need can go for help. Safe Havens are identified by window decals or posters provided by the City.

Essentially, a Safe Haven serves as a port in a storm for anyone in an emergency situation. For example, an elderly person who is confused or lost might enter a Safe Haven and ask for directions or to use the telephone. Injured people, frightened children, or stranded motorists might do the same.

It requires very little to be an effective Safe Haven. Simple and/or advanced CPR training would be useful, but is not a prerequisite. Employees are encouraged to call the Police, the Fire Department, the school district, or other appropriate agency when they encounter people in need."

To find out more, visit the CPD website


Alejandro Valdez Anti Gun Law for Gang Members
SGT Belicki announced a new anti gun law in honor of fallen PO Alejandro Valdez who was killed by gang gunfire. The law essentially states that it is unlawful for a gang member to be in possession of a firearm. If a gang member is found guilty and convicted of being in possession of a firearm, s/he will serve a mandatory prison sentence of 3 - 10 years as a class 2 felony.

CLEARMap (formerly Citizen ICAM)
From December 1st - 31st, according to CLEARMap, Beat 1431 suffered 57 crimes, a decrease of 19 from last month (76):
- 2 AGGRAVATED BATTERY *
- 5 BURGLARY *
- 1 DISORDERLY CONDUCT
- 1 DRUG ABUSE VIOLATIONS
- 3 FRAUD
- 12 LARCENY THEFT *
- 1 LIQUOR LAWS
- 4 MISCELLANEOUS NON-INDEX OFFENSES
- 5 MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT *
- 1 PROSTITUTION
- 5 ROBBERY *
- 11 SIMPLE BATTERY
- 6 VANDALISM

* indicates index crimes (most serious offenses)

Click here to view table of all reported crimes (new window)

Beat 1431 Court Advocacy Report
A report was not provided at this time.

Reported Shots Fired Beat Map
There were no shots fired reported over the month.


Beat 1431 Section Reports
SECTION 1 (Borders: California, Milwaukee, Armitage)
1) Graffiti continues to plague the alley of Milwaukee underneath the El
2) Commotion was reported in the alley behind Tropicana involving security guards
3) A resident on Stave reported via email of a burglary in his garage at 5am on December 21st. The 3 - 4 burglars jumped the alley fence and pushed open the pedestrian door (which was unfortunately unlocked). The resident called 911 and was told to stay inside the safety of his house, however, the resident claimed the police never arrived. Only a few small items were stolen. SGT Belicki did not have information that could confirm whether officers appeared at the residence or not. In general, SGT Belicki recommends in this sort of scenario that citizens calling 911 should tell the dispatcher that they want to speak with the officers when they arrive on scene. It is possible that officers arrived at the scene investigated, did not see burglars and moved on.
action: Residents are urged to continue calling 911 to report criminal activity.

SECTION 2 (Borders: Rockwell, Lyndale, Western, Milwaukee)
1) Representatives from Club 2047 were present and reported that they have increased security in their parking lots by 2 security officers. Also, for private events guests are not required to pass through metal detectors or receive pat downs searching for banned items.
Private event guests, however, must have tickets to get into the club, IDs are scanned and recorded, and security cameras are recording activity.
2) A court advocate attended the court case for the 4 individuals charged in criminal activity the night of the homicide at Club 2047 and reported that Club 2047 was not named as a victim in the case. SGT Belicki confirmed that was the case because the crime did not happen directly to them, but it did happen on their property. The concern is that Club 2047, by not being considered a victim of these sorts of crimes, has no obligation to appear in court and testify against the criminal offenders lessening the chance that these criminals will be charged for their offenses. SGT Belicki claimed it is up to the State's Attorney to subpoena Club 2047 and any witnesses at the scene of the crime to appear in court. Jim Rhodes suggested to the Club 2047 representatives present at the meeting that they proactively contact the State's Attorney's office to participate in the investigation as a victim since their property was damaged in reputation as not a good neighbor from the perspective of neighborhood residents.
3) Max from Congress Theater reported that the last month was slow with 3 shows, and expects January to be the same. He reported that the Alderman's Office contacted him for complaints of garbage. No criminal activity was reported.
4) A representative from Congress Pizza claimed there has not been gang activity at the restaurant. The representative did report continued sightings late at night of the man in a wheel chair accompanying underage girls near Campbell and McLean. The man in the wheelchair may live in the Campbell Terrace building. This situation was reported last month.
There was another meeting between Congress Pizza and the City to address known issues. All attendees were in agreement the situation was going well and that there will continue to be follow up meetings.
action: Club 2047 criminal activity, Congress Theater nuisances and Congress Pizza gang activity remain priorities in this section.

SECTION 3 (Borders: Rockwell, Fullerton, Western, Lyndale)
1) Anthony Jones who was shot last month, has not been seen around the Beat.
2) The troubled resident on Palmer reportedly had no nuisance reports over the month.
action: Residents are strongly urged to call 911 to report gang activity and 311 for graffiti.

SECTION 4 (Borders: California, Fullerton, Rockwell, Milwaukee)
1) The usual late night drinking and littering in the diagonal parking at Goethe Elementary School on Talman continues on weekends.
action: Residents are strongly urged to call 911 to report gang activity and 311 for graffiti.

SECTION 5 (Borders: California, Logan Boulevard, Rockwell, Fullerton)
No reports were made in this section
action: Residents are strongly urged to call 911 if they hear or see any suspicious activity.

SECTION 6 (Borders: Rockwell, Logan Boulevard, Western, Fullerton)
1) Early December before the holidays, there were car windows smashed parked along the section of Logan Blvd that turns into Artesian. This occurred on two separate occasions over the month.
2) There were no reported problems at the skate park.
action: Residents are strongly urged to call 911 to report gang activity and 311 for graffiti

Recurring Problem Areas for BEAT 1431
1) Gang graffiti
2) Gang drug activity
3) Gang weapons violence

DISCLAIMER
Beat 1431 CAPS volunteers prepared these meeting minutes to the best of their ability.