CHICAGO CITY HALL (WBBM Newsradio) -- Chicago police commanders told aldermen Wednesday they're working to get a handle on a wave of burglaries at businesses in neighborhoods across the city.
Burglars smashed their way into 13 businesses and an unknown number of homes along Clark Street in Lincoln Park early Tuesday morning in one of the most recent sprees. Local Ald. Timmy Knudsen described the burglaries as "senseless" during Chicago Police Department budget hearings Wednesday morning.
"The damage to the business is usually a higher dollar amount than the cash the burglars can get," said Ald. Knudsen (43rd Ward). "I know this is happening city-wide; I've talked to colleagues about having similar things happen over the past few weeks."
He asked interim Police Supt. Fred Waller and his team how the department was adjusting to this new trend. In response, CPD Chief of Patrol Andre Parham told aldermen he's personally been talking to the local district commander, who's been working with members of the detective bureau to make sure officers are deployed to "get ahead" of those burglaries.
"They're ensuring they're going to have resources in the areas where they project these to be occurring," Chief Parham said.
CPD Chief of Detectives Kevin Bruno added that the city's decline in robberies is allowing them to shift resources away from the department's Robbery Task Force and toward stopping burglaries.
"We're gonna have teams looking at each incident which is going to help us decide where to send resources," he said, noting that the department is using security cameras and license-plate readers to track down thieves.
Budget hearings are set to continue through November 6.
Commanders update aldermen after 13 break-ins along Clark St.
Commanders update aldermen after 13 break-ins along Clark St.
