Crime down in state; up in Kendall County

Crime is on the decline in Illinois and throughout the Fox Valley, according to recently released Illinois State police crime numbers.

The state crime numbers fell by less than 1 percent, or by about 712 crimes. This is the fifth consecutive year the rate, which includes property crimes and crimes committed against people, has dropped.

"The most important responsibility of law enforcement is to keep people safe," said Illinois State Police Director Jonathon Monken. "We can never stop working to improve in this area, and with the continued decline in the state's crime rate, we are moving in the right direction."

Locally, those numbers varied from crime rates falling as much as 3.6 percent between 2007 and 2008 in Will county, to rising 2.7 percent in Kendall during the same time period. The statistics include murders, criminal sexual assaults, robberies, aggravated batteries and aggravated assaults, burglaries, thefts, motor vehicle thefts and arsons.

Murders, which were on the rise statewide, have decreased in DuPage, Kendall, Kane and Will counties.

Locally, murders have fallen off. Compared to 2007, the murder rate in Kane county went down 75 percent. Five murders occurred in Kane County in 2008, as opposed to 20 the pervious year. Sheriff Pat Perez attributed this decline to the hard work of his employees and surrounding agencies that took dozens of gang members off the streets over the past several years.

"Taking down (gang) leadership has really had a direct reflection on homicide," Perez said.

Criminal sexual assault crimes rose slightly in Kane County from 198 to 207, the report said. Perez said that although not reported, domestic violence cases also seem to be up.

All other Kane County categories declined, including burglaries, thefts, and motor vehicle thefts -- which dropped by more than 10 percent, according to the data. Perez said that crime analysis, which his team began using two years ago, has helped deputies pinpoint areas at high risk. He said the poor economy may have deterred burglars because families were purchasing less and more homes have at least one member home during the day.

DuPage County saw a decrease in the murder (from 11 in 2007 to 6 in 2008), robbery, assault, theft, motor vehicle theft and arson rates. Criminal sexual assault and burglaries increased by as much as 15 percent.

Still, as a whole, DuPage's crime rate decreased by 3.2 percent from 2007. Locally, only Kendall County saw an overall increase in crime.

While the state's rate declined, Kendall's rose 2.7 percent. Criminal sexual assaults, robberies, burglaries, and thefts all increased, from 1.2 to as much as 50 percent in some categories. Murders, aggravated assaults or batteries, motor vehicle thefts and arsons, decreased.

Kendall's population rose dramatically from 88,000 to almost 97,000 people between 2007 and 2008. DuPage County saw a decrease of several thousand people in 2008.

Kendall County Sheriff Richard Randall was not available for comment.

According to FBI statistics released earlier this year, nationwide crime was down for the second year in a row. In the Midwest, violent crime is down 3.8 percent, while property crime fell 3.3 percent. Both local and federal authorities caution this trend could change during these tough economic times.