Feb 25, 2009 3:28 pm US/Central
Oak Park Top Cop: Residents Should Wear Whistles
OAK PARK, Ill. (Sun-Times Media Wire) ―
In response to a 46 percent increase in robberies last year, a west suburban police chief wants to outfit residents with whistles.
"People would carry their whistles on their key chain or in their hands as they were walking down the street," Oak Park police Chief Rick Tanksley said, calling it "just another tool at someone's disposal to get help in times of emergency."
He said the village had a similar program during the 1980s. He is working with the community relations department to acquire whistles to sell to residents at a "reduced cost," as well as to create an education campaign.
A whistle "scares the individual, they know their time is limited -- the person who is trying to harm you or rob you," Tanksley said.
There were 166 reported robberies last year in Oak Park, compared with 114 in 2007. Robbery arrests were also up. There were 48 last eyar, compared with the 36 the previous year.
The renewed "whistlestop" program comes at a time when Tanksley and Village President David Pope are trying to reassure the public that an increase in crime is merely a misperception by the public.
There is an "issue of perception" regardless of the fact that "it's safer today than at any point in the last four decades," Pope said.
Last year the village saw a 4-percent increase in criminal incidents from the number in 2007, Tanksley said, adding it was the fourth-lowest yearly crime totals in 27 years.
Pope said Oak Park has the highest officer-to-resident ratio in Illinois, and crime last year was "less than half of what it was in 1991."
Still, officers will provide a police escort if residents feel unsafe.
"I always tell people: If you're coming home and whether it's late at night or during the day, if you want an escort home, call the police. We'll meet you," he said.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2009. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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