Top News

MAYWOOD, Ill. (CBS) ― West suburban Maywood, a village notorious for violence, has seen a dramatic drop in crime in the past year. CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports that criminal sexual assault has been cut by one third; theft has been cut in half; and murders have dropped by three quarters.

So how did Maywood do it? Maywood has long been known as a hotbed of criminal activity.

In 2003, it had the highest murder rate in Cook County, when 20 people were slain in Maywood. So far this year, only two people have been murdered and crime in the village of 27,000 is down dramatically in just about every category.

Maywood Police Chief Tim Curry said, "I've been on this job for almost 25 years and I can't recall a time it's been this peaceful."

The statistics back him up. In the first ten months of this year, murders, criminal sexual assaults, burglaries, motor vehicle thefts and thefts are down by at least 30 percent when compared with last year's totals.

"One reason for the plummeting crime rate has been the work of Special Enforcement Teams, which were set up earlier this year. SET officers don't respond to regular dispatch calls, but rather go to crime hotspots before trouble erupts.

That strategy is why officers questioned William Reed for loitering on Tuesday and had him put his hands on a Maywood police car while he was frisked.

Reed had no outstanding warrants, so he was allowed to leave after being told of the no loitering rule. He said he didn't mind being forced to put his hands on the car.

"If it will deter crime, it's a good thing," Reed said.

Curry said the crackdown on petty street crime has deterred crime.

"It's the small things that develop into the big things. People loitering are probably plotting the next robbery or theft," Curry said.

Or maybe worse, as may have been the case when SET officer Saronda Turner questioned one loiterer in front of a Maywood store.

"Right here we found a guy who would loiter and we found out later that he was a child sexual predator and he was standing within 500 feet of school," Turner said.

Now he's in prison.

Malek Shuaibi said the police crackdown on loitering has helped bring customers back to his convenience store.

"It makes a big difference in the store. There's so many people out here, business ain't the same," Shuaibi said. "People are scared to come in the store will all these people hanging out in front of the store."

The SET officers said they're just one part of the solution in Maywood. Other strategies that have made a difference include 60 cameras that have been set up around the town; regular meetings between officers and concerned citizens; and police escorts outside Proviso East High School, where police literally follow groups of students until the groups break up into more manageable numbers.

Is the strategy something that can be implemented in other towns? Curry said yes, although he said it costs a little more, as officers are taken from regular patrols and put on the Special Enforcement Teams.

That means other officers end up working overtime to make up for the lost manpower. But, in the end Curry said it's well worth it and he said the citizens seem to agree.

Officers said that in the past they were often greeted with one finger. Now, they said it's often five as people show their appreciation with a friendly wave.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Editor's Picks

• Gay Celebrities
• Did You Know? Stars From Chicago!
• Celebs Who Lean To The Right
• Real Or Fake?