Cops Desperate to Cut Down Robberies in Lake View

“Robberies are a big pain in our butts around here,” said 19th District Sgt. Jason Clark to a room full of Lake View neighbors.

“The numbers are up drastically, and it’s the only number that’s gone up.”

With robberies in the 19th District so far this year nearly triple what they were in 2012, police are doing everything they can let residents know how to safeguard themselves from criminals.

That includes sharing tricks—like snipping the red line that releases a garage door, because crooks have a simple tool to pull it and get inside—and common sense tips everyone should abide by. Clark and Commander Eli Voulgaris are making the rounds to neighborhood groups to inform residents who will hopefully share the same tips with neighbors.

Clark, who admits to being robbed while off-duty, said while there’s a spike in general robberies, the big problem comes to cell phones. To drive the point home, Clark called up a resident, role-played how easy it is to steal a phone, and traded cash to signify what the phone looks like to robbers.

“You have $200 in your hands there,” Clark said, holding the resident’s phone. “We’re walking around with mini computers in our pockets. It’s so easy. There’s always a cell phone place somewhere that these guys can find to crack the phone so they can sell it and reuse it.”

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Clark says the point is, don’t use a cell phone late at night while walking down the street, and talking to someone doesn't means crooks will steer clear.

And while sometime police can catch the suspect—like in Bucktown when they tracked an iPhone to a Blue Line CTA Train and stopped the train between platforms to catch the robbers—it's not always that successful.

The other issue the 19th District sees most is burglaries, and area police have been very verbal about their willingness to check each house individually for flaws.

“If we do enough of these, hopefully one day they’ll say, ‘This whole neighborhood is too hard (to burglarize),’” Clark said. “I’ve been a policemen around this area for 18 years, and I can tell you why thieves picked your house over your neighbors.”

Clark says to email the CAPS office at CAPS019District@chicagopolice.org to schedule a time where he can come examine your home.

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