After two teens are arrested in West Ridge, Rogers Park robberies, neighbors demand more police
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Residents on the city's North Side are calling for more police, after two teenagers were arrested in connection with a string of armed robberies and a carjacking in West Ridge and Rogers Park Wednesday morning.
As CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey reported Thursday, this is an issue we have been tracking for months.
Fortunately, police believe they have the suspects responsible for the terrifying crime spree Wednesday morning — but residents here are still waiting to hear if more police resources will be dedicated to the neighborhoods, where violent robberies are on the rise.
Call after call after call to police came in Wednesday morning. Between 5:25 a.m. and 7:15 a.m., police got five calls for help from residents in West Ridge and Rogers Park who said they were robbed at gunpoint by two young offenders.
One robbery in the 2900 block of West Fitch Avenue involved a carjacking. The others robberies occurred in the 1900 block of West Farwell Avenue, the 2400 block of West Morse Avenue, the 6600 block of North Maplewood Avenue, and the 6300 block of North Artesian Avenue.
And while police were able to share good news today that two 17-year-olds have been arrested in connection with the crimes, the spree was not an anomaly. It is part of a trend.
Robberies are up year-to-date across the city – with a total of 549 since Jan. 1 compared with 423 in the same period last year. But for the last four years, robberies were at the lowest levels in the city's recent history.
This makes the uptick on the city's North Side even more startling.
There have been at least six robberies in the West Ridge community area and six in the Rogers Park community area – and that is just since the beginning of the year.
"When crimes like this happen, it just escalates our fear," said Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th). "To be honest, I'm really fed up with the crime. We have to get it under control."
Four of the crimes happened in Silverstein's ward. All of them happened in the Rogers Park (24th) police district.
Silverstein said she met with Chicago Police Thursday afternoon.
"I was demanding some more officers up here, so I'm hoping we're going to be successful," she said.
Last week, we showed you the stack of testimonials Silverstein recently began collecting from her constituents.
They are continuing to flow in from residents who want more than just arrests.
Many want more patrols and a greater police presence in general.
"We need to make sure that we have enough police officers in our neighborhood to make sure that everyone feels safe," Silverstein said.
