Burglary Alert
Three residential burglaries occurred between May 13-16, all occurring during the day. Entry was gained through back doors. One was in Bremerton Woods, another on Fisk and one on Lathrop.
The offender was seen walking around the outside of one of homes. The offender is described as a male black, 25 years old about 5'09". The offender fled in his car that was parked across 175 street. The car is described as a strange green color, Ford Taurus or similar vehicle. Tan license plate beginning with "K8". This may be an Indiana temporary license plate. Anyone seeing any suspicious activity should call 9-1-1 immediately.
Grant Awarded for Police Vehicle Replacement
The Police Department recently received a grant to replace one of the marked police vehicles. The grant in the amount of $15,745.00 was awarded by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority. Traffic fine surcharges and other funds will cover the local match and equipment for the vehicle. This vehicle will not cost taxpayers a penny.
Sheriff’s Award of Merit
Officer Kris Vallow was awarded the Cook County Sheriff’s Award of Merit by Sheriff Tom Dart at a ceremony held on October 17 at the Chicago Cultural Center. Officer Kris Vallow was among 38 suburban police officers receiving the award of merit.
This is the second time in his 5 year career that Officer Vallow has received this award. In addition to his patrol duties Officer Vallow serves as one of the departments Criminal Investigators, is an Evidence Technician, is one of the officers that serves on the Net 3 Regional Tactical Unit and is assigned to the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force.
In his patrol duties over the last year Officer Vallow has made many significant drug arrests, including marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine and PCP cases. He has made arrests for firearm violations as well as many other cases.
In his investigator duties he has successfully worked on many Identity Theft Cases. He has made arrests in Residential Burglary Cases. He expanded cases already charged to get higher felony charges approved including Attempt Residential Burglary and Aggravated Battery Against a Police Officer. Because of staffing shortages almost all of his investigation works has been in addition to his full patrol schedule, coming in on days or shifts he was off to work these cases.
Officer Kris Vallow demonstrates the highest professional qualities of a police officer and is truly deserving of this recognition. The entire village should be proud of Officer Vallow, who is a life long resident of East Hazel Crest.
Traffic Safety Information
In an effort to reduce serious and fatal speed-related traffic accidents, East Hazel Crest Police Department increased traffic enforcement efforts between June 1 and June 30.
During the enforcement period, officers worked an additional 44.5 hours concentrating on speed related violations in four areas. Officers issued 91 speeding citations during the 44.5 hours of enforcement. In addition four drivers were cited for drivers license violations.
The East Hazel Crest Police Department, participated in the Illinois Department of Transportation You Drink & Drive, You Lose campaign by conducting a DUI checkpoint on July 3. This checkpoint resulted in 24 citations including seven for Drivers License Violations, two for seatbelts and two arrests for possession of cannabis.
The department was awarded grant funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation and administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Police Department Receives Second Place Award in State Traffic Safety Competition
The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police recently announced the winners of the 2006 “Illinois Traffic Safety Challenge.” The East Hazel Crest Police Department was named a second place winner in the program.
The Illinois Traffic Safety Challenge is a state-wide highway safety awards program which recognizes law enforcement agencies throughout the state for their accomplishments in promoting traffic safety in their communities. The program is sponsored in part by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police. This annual competition is open to all law enforcement agencies in Illinois.
The competition requires the agencies to report their policies and procedures covering highway safety, their officer training, public information & education initiatives, as well as enforcement and effectiveness measures.
Each agency’s application is reviewed by a team of independent judges. The applications are judged in categories, based on the number of sworn officers on the department, as well as the type of agency (municipal police, sheriff department, college police, etc.)
The awards were presented at the annual Illinois Chiefs summer conference in Rosemont on August 8 th, 2007.
“Congratulations should go out to all the agencies that competed in this program,” said Assistant Chief Steven Casstevens, IACP Traffic Committee Chairman and co-director of the program, “as they have all made their communities a safer place to live and drive.”
East Hazel Crest previously placed 2 nd in 2005, 1 st in 2003 and 3 rd in 2002 in the State Challenge. The police department was a 1 st place winner in the National Challenge in 2005 and 3 rd in 2003. Sgt. Robert Wasek prepares the Traffic Safety Challenge entries each year.
(For more information on the Illinois Traffic Safety Challenge, visit the Illinois Chiefs website at www.ilchiefs.org or contact Challenge Directors Steven Casstevens at 847-781-2804 or Paul Rizzo at 847-348-7277).