Burglaries Soar 116% (And City Says It’s YOUR Fault!)

Image: TelegraphUK

A 92-year-old Lake View woman has become one of the latest additions to the North Side’s ever-growing list of burglary victims.

The woman answered her front door Friday afternoon to speak with a man who claimed to be a utility worker. The “worker” entered the front while his partner entered the back and stole “a large sum of money” from the woman. Both men then fled.

An acquaintance tells us that the woman was not injured in the incident.

A Year To Forget

Through August 6, reported break-ins are:

• up 116% in Wrigleyville and Boystown (138 cases this year vs. 64 last)
• up 116% in Lake View (281 vs. 130)
• up 54% in Lincoln Park (169 vs. 110)
• up 57% across the 19th police district
• up 9.3% citywide

Of the nearby community areas, only Uptown has seen a decrease in burglaries this year, with 63 cases compared to 67 last year.

It’s Your Fault

A community policing officer at a recent neighborhood meeting blamed the burglary increase on residents who leave their windows and doors unlocked.

But, when an audience member pointed out the obvious—that it seems more likely that there are 100% more criminals in the area than 100% more people leaving doors and windows unlocked—the officer had little to offer.

Do you open your windows to let in a breeze during summer? Well, in the world of police statistics, if a burglar crawls through one of those windows while you’re sleeping that counts as “leaving a window or door open.” (Just ask the folks who got burglarized overnight Friday in the 3800 block of N. Paulina about that. They probably didn’t know that they weren’t allowed to let fresh air into their home during the summertime.)

Do you have a window A/C unit? Guess what? If a burglar pushes the unit into your home and crawls through the window, that is also considered “leaving a window or door open.” (Ask the poor sap whose house was burglarized that way on Tuesday in the 800 block of W. Cuyler.)

PS—Later in the neighborhood meeting, the CAPS officer did volunteer to go on a bike ride with a resident, so there’s that. Here at CWB, we’d still prefer that the entire CAPS program be disbanded and every one of its officers re-assigned to do something useful. Like looking for burglars instead of going on feel good bike rides.

Sightings

At least two Boystown residents caught glimpses of men who tried to break into their homes last week.

• A woman told police that a man crashed through her back door around 9PM on Wednesday in the 800 block of W. Roscoe. The offender, described as a black man in a red t-shirt, saw the woman, screamed “Oh! Crap!” and fled the scene.

• A tenant in the 800 block of W. Buckingham called police after an unknown person broke into their home around 12:30AM last Saturday. The offender fled without taking anything.

The List

Other burglaries that have been confirmed by 19th district police in the past month:

Date & Time of Report Block Type of Burglary Location
8/6/2016 12:00:00 1700 W BARRY AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE-GARAGE
8/5/2016 17:00:00 3900 N CLARK ST UNLAWFUL ENTRY APARTMENT
8/5/2016 10:00:00 800 W NEWPORT AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE
8/4/2016 20:30:00 600 W CORNELIA AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY APARTMENT
8/4/2016 8:00:00 700 W BARRY AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY APARTMENT
8/3/2016 22:30:00 4100 N ASHLAND AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE-GARAGE
8/3/2016 19:00:00 4700 N OAKLEY AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY APARTMENT
8/2/2016 7:00:00 2800 N ORCHARD ST FORCIBLE ENTRY APARTMENT
8/1/2016 22:00:00 4700 N ASHLAND AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY PARK PROPERTY
8/1/2016 12:00:00 3300 N KENMORE AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE
7/31/2016 14:00:00 2100 W BELLE PLAINE AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE-GARAGE
7/31/2016 7:31:00 4000 N SHERIDAN RD UNLAWFUL ENTRY APARTMENT
7/30/2016 4:30:00 1200 W WAVELAND AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY APARTMENT
7/30/2016 1:40:00 2800 N GREENVIEW AVE ATT. FORCIBLE ENTRY RESIDENCE
7/29/2016 17:30:00 4000 N CLARK ST UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE-GARAGE
7/29/2016 13:00:00 4100 N OAKLEY AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE
7/28/2016 5:52:00 2900 N SHEFFIELD AVE FORCIBLE ENTRY BAR OR TAVERN
7/28/2016 2:00:00 3700 N KENMORE AVE FORCIBLE ENTRY APARTMENT
7/27/2016 18:00:00 4600 N LINCOLN AVE FORCIBLE ENTRY SMALL RETAIL STORE
7/27/2016 15:00:00 4200 N WESTERN AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE-GARAGE
7/27/2016 2:45:00 4500 N MAPLEWOOD AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE
7/27/2016 2:30:00 2200 W EASTWOOD AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE
7/26/2016 22:00:00 3100 N KENMORE AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY APARTMENT
7/26/2016 13:00:00 4600 N BEACON ST UNLAWFUL ENTRY APARTMENT
7/26/2016 1:35:00 2100 W SUNNYSIDE AVE FORCIBLE ENTRY RESIDENCE
7/26/2016 1:00:00 2400 N JANSSEN AVE FORCIBLE ENTRY RESIDENCE
7/26/2016 1:00:00 800 W NEWPORT AVE FORCIBLE ENTRY RESIDENCE
7/25/2016 14:30:00 2700 N HOYNE AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY OTHER
7/24/2016 20:30:00 4700 N ASHLAND AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY PARK PROPERTY
7/24/2016 14:54:00 2900 N LAKEWOOD AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE-GARAGE
7/24/2016 1:30:00 900 W WOLFRAM ST UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE
7/23/2016 22:30:00 4200 N MARINE DR UNLAWFUL ENTRY APARTMENT
7/23/2016 18:21:00 3400 N ELAINE PL FORCIBLE ENTRY APARTMENT
7/22/2016 1:00:00 2600 N BOSWORTH AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY APARTMENT
7/20/2016 11:30:00 1000 W ROSCOE ST UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE-GARAGE
7/20/2016 10:00:00 700 W JUNIOR TER UNLAWFUL ENTRY APARTMENT
7/19/2016 20:05:00 2900 N SEELEY AVE FORCIBLE ENTRY APARTMENT
7/19/2016 0:30:00 2600 N MAGNOLIA AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE-GARAGE
7/19/2016 0:00:00 2100 W PENSACOLA AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE
7/18/2016 19:45:00 2900 N CLARK ST FORCIBLE ENTRY BUSINESS OFFICE
7/17/2016 18:00:00 4600 N KENMORE AVE FORCIBLE ENTRY RESIDENCE
7/17/2016 14:00:00 3200 N ASHLAND AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY APARTMENT
7/17/2016 1:00:00 1800 W BERENICE AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE
7/16/2016 17:30:00 800 W BUCKINGHAM PL UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE-GARAGE
7/15/2016 21:30:00 900 W DAKIN ST FORCIBLE ENTRY APARTMENT
7/14/2016 20:00:00 1500 W MONTANA ST UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE-GARAGE
7/14/2016 3:59:00 2900 N ASHLAND AVE FORCIBLE ENTRY RESTAURANT
7/13/2016 20:00:00 3800 N ASHLAND AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY OTHER
7/13/2016 2:25:00 3600 N HALSTED ST UNLAWFUL ENTRY OTHER
7/12/2016 12:00:00 3600 N PINE GROVE AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY OTHER
7/12/2016 10:00:00 900 W LAKESIDE PL UNLAWFUL ENTRY APARTMENT
7/11/2016 8:00:00 3500 N SEMINARY AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE
7/11/2016 4:30:00 2500 N LINCOLN AVE FORCIBLE ENTRY MEDICAL/DENTAL OFFICE
7/11/2016 2:00:00 1300 W WRIGHTWOOD AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE
7/10/2016 17:30:00 3200 N RACINE AVE FORCIBLE ENTRY RESIDENCE-GARAGE
7/10/2016 1:00:00 3400 N SEMINARY AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE
7/7/2016 14:00:00 4700 N ARTESIAN AVE UNLAWFUL ENTRY RESIDENCE-GARAGE
7/7/2016 8:15:00 2700 N MILDRED AVE FORCIBLE ENTRY APARTMENT
7/7/2016 8:00:00 3500 N JANSSEN AVE FORCIBLE ENTRY APARTMENT
7/7/2016 0:55:00 1100 W BELMONT AVE FORCIBLE ENTRY OTHER
7/6/2016 18:30:00 1500 W GRACE ST UNLAWFUL ENTRY STREET
7/6/2016 12:30:00 2900 N CLYBOURN AVE FORCIBLE ENTRY RESIDENCE-GARAGE
7/4/2016 16:30:00 2900 N CLYBOURN AVE FORCIBLE ENTRY RESIDENCE-GARAGE
7/4/2016 3:05:00 2400 W ADDISON ST ATT. FORCIBLE ENTRY RESIDENCE
7/4/2016 0:05:00 3200 N LINCOLN AVE FORCIBLE ENTRY BUSINESS OFFICE
7/1/2016 3:30:00 900 W MONTROSE AVE FORCIBLE ENTRY APARTMENT
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About CWBChicago 4272 Articles
CWBChicago was created in 2013 by five residents of Wrigleyville and Boystown who had grown disheartened with inaccurate information that was being provided at local Community Policing (CAPS) meetings. Our coverage area has expanded since then to cover Lincoln Park, River North, The Loop, Uptown, and other North Side Areas. But our mission remains unchanged: To provide original public safety reporting with better context and greater detail than mainstream media outlets. Our editorial email address is news@cwbchicago.com