The Naperville Police Department has released their crime statistics for 2019.
Major Crimes Down
Chief Robert Marshall and his senior staff shared that the number of major crimes in Naperville such as murder, rape and burglary dropped by 6 percent from 2018.
Motor Vehicle Theft Up
What has gone up is motor vehicle theft. 73 incidents occurred in 2019, as compared to 68 in 2018.
But 93 percent of those cases occurred in vehicles that were left unlocked.
“You continue to see campaigns from us of Lock It or Lose It. Please lock your valuables because these crimes are absolutely preventable,” said Deputy Chief Jason Arres. “We get that folks make mistakes and forget to lock a door or maybe forget a key in their car, but the more vigilant we can be about locking our vehicles, not keeping our vehicles unlocked, we’ll be able to prevent these crimes from even happening.”
By the same token, 75 percent of residential burglaries showed no sign of forced entry.
School Threats
The NPD says that in January of this year, they investigated three school-related threat incidents.
Police say parents need to talk to their kids about the seriousness of any statement, written or spoken, that could be interpreted as threatening.
Top arrest offenses for 2019 included warrant arrests, DUIs for alcohol, and driving with a suspended license.
Naperville News 17’s Aysha Ashley Househ reports.
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