Springfield Police Chief addresses recent crime surge
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — According to Springfield's Police Chief, crime is up almost 10% this year-to-date as compared to the same period last year.
On top of that, burglaries are up 81%, drug arrests, drug equipment violations and weapon violations are up. Those three make up nearly 35% of Springfield's crime increases.
In Tuesday's city council meeting, Springfield Alderwoman Erin Conley spoke up over her concerns. She recently spoke with Springfield Police Chief Ken Scarlette about the crime spike.
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"You and I have had some conversations recently around some more disturbing things that have gone on either in my ward, or immediately adjacent in Ward 9 that impacted one of my constituents," Conley said. "Specifically, I've had a couple of shootings. A young man was shot last week. He and his friend were out riding bikes in the evening."
Conley oversees Ward 8 in Springfield and has noticed an increase in violence. She's not the only one who's noticing this trend.
"Not only did we have two young man that were struck while they were riding their bikes, we also had an individual that was gunned down and killed over the weekend," Scarlette said. "That is the fourth shooting that we've had in a handful of days all throughout our community."
The Chief has taken a strong stance against gun violence since stepping into the role in 2022.
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"One thing I've stressed in my tenure as Chief is that I will not tolerate gun violence in our community, and we will do whatever we can to address that," Scarlette said. "I think it's important that we kind of set the table for what has happened in our community specifically."
On a brighter note, Scarlette said that part of the reason the numbers are up is because of proactive work by the police department. Springfield PD is currently on pace to recover a record number of illegal firearms.
Year-to-date, they've already recovered 424 firearms. In the last 21 months, they've recovered 861 illegal firearms.
In the meeting, Scarlette noted a few reasons that could be contributing to the increase in gun violence. The first being that the Sangamon County Juvenile Detention Center has not been open since Sept. 30, 2023.
The Chief said there are multiple reasons why the center is currently not open, including screening tools that need to be put into place and a minimum number of workers needed to operate the facility.
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Since then, juveniles who are arrested with firearms are released back to their guardians by the department.
"I think that sets a terrible precedent and a bad message for what we as citizens expect in our community," Scarlette added.
The Chief also said the Pre Trial-Fairness Act has a direct impact on the crime increase. Scarlette said he agrees with most of the act, except for allowing career criminals to repeat their offenses in the community.
Scarlette said more shootings are having a mobile component recently. This includes multiple shots coming from vehicles and homicides that have had vehicles involved.
"We have an obligation, and a duty to hold those responsible who are committing the crimes," Scarlette said.
