CRIME DOWN IN ILLINOIS: RATE FALLS 26% IN PAST DECADE, BUT DRUG ARRESTS SOAR

Springfield - The state's crime rate plunged during the 1990s, a
decade that also saw drug arrests jump dramatically and Chicago drop
out of the top spot for crime rates in major Illinois cities.

Illinois' crime rate dropped about 26 percent in the decade that
ended in 2000, according to Illinois State Police statistics. Last
year, Illinoisans reported just under 44 crimes per 1,000 people,
while the 1990 rate was nearly 60 crimes per 1,000.

The statistics just for 2000, released today by the state police,
show the crime rate dropped 4.5 percent from 1999. That includes a
drop in all eight categories of violent and property crime tracked by
the annual report.

Over the last decade, though, the number of drug arrests soared. The
rate of arrests for drug offenses has more than doubled since 1990,
to 9.3 for every 1,000 people.

The numbers in Macon County reflected statewide trends, with a 5.7
percent decline in the crime rate and an 8 percent increase in drug
arrests in the last year. A decade ago, there were 56 crimes per
1,000 people in the county. For 2000, there were 48 crimes per 1,000
Macon County residents.

Law enforcement experts credit the overall decline in crime to a
variety of factors, including a much-improved economy, harsher
penalties for offenders and an older general population. They also
contend drug arrests are up because police are more sensitive to them
and want to prevent other crimes related to illicit drug use.

Experts warn that the decline may not paint a complete picture
because many crimes are never tracked.

"The crime index doesn't account for all crimes. But generally, it's
a good indicator of how much serious rime is out there that the
police have to investigate and invest their resources in," said David
Olson, a criminal justice professor at Loyola University in Chicago.

And just because crime rates are falling in general does not mean
crime is less of a problem in some specific areas, he said.

"For the people in Chicago who live in some of the most crime-prone
neighborhoods," Olson said, "the fact that crime went down in Chicago
doesn't mean squat. 'It may have gone down somewhere, but I sure
ain't seeing it.'"

Macon County Sheriff Roger Walker Jr. agreed that the statistics are
limited in their value, noting that many crimes go unreported and
misdemeanor crimes are not included. Walker also cautioned that crime
rates are cyclical, but said he is encouraged by the numbers, which
he believes show that community policing initiatives and training are
working.

He said one cause for concern, however, is the likely closing of the
Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. Decatur plant and layoffs at Zexel Valeo
Compressor USA)

"Economics do have a great impacts," Walker said. "People who are
gainfully employed tend not to go out and commit crimes."

Although jail overcrowding has been a problem in Macon County, Walker
said the increased number of drug arrests takes away the supply and
can force addicts to get help.

"We should be concentrating on efforts to rehabilitate people who are
drug addicts," he said.

In the last decade, Decatur's crime rate dropped from about 67 per
1m000 residents to about 58 per 1,000 residents. But Decatur has the
sixth highest crime rate among the 15 largest cities in Illinois,
down from 10th highest in 1990. Mayor Terry Howley declined to
comment on the statistics because he had not had a chance to review
them.

Mirroring a national trend, Illinois' crime rate began to plummet in
the early 1990s and has been falling ever since.

The latest U.S. Justice Department statistics found a 15 percent drop
in violent crime last year, continuing a decline that began in 1994.

Illinois' rate in 2000 was lower than at any point since state police
began charting it in 1974.

Police agencies reported 546,167 crimes in 2000, down about 20
percent from 680,113 crimes recorded in 1990. Meanwhile, the state's
population rose 8.5 percent during that time, according to the U.S.
Census Bureau.

Those two factors combined for a 26 percent drop in the state's crime
rate the number of crimes reported for every 1,000 people by the
end of the decade.

Statewide, the rate of violent crimes dropped more than 30 percent
during the 1990s, while the rate of property crimes declined about 25
percent. The state's murder rate dropped by about 30 percent, the
arson rate plunged 43 percent, and the robbery rate was cut by 47
percent.

Many of the stat's 102 counties and its largest cities saw similar trends.

Nearly half the counties saw their crime rates plummet between 1990
and 2000, while many others held relatively steady or saw increases
tied to shrinking populations.

Cook County had the highest crime rate in 1990, with more than 83
crimes reported for every 1,000 people. Its 2000 rate dropped to
fourth statewide at 58 crimes per 1,000 people, a 30 percent decline.

Peoria County had the highest rate at nearly 71 crimes per 1,000
people in 2000, up from 68 a decade earlier.

Of the state's 15 largest cities, only Peoria with a 3.5 percent
increase saw its crime rate rise. Chicago's rate dropped 32 percent
to fourth-highest among the largest cities behind Peoria, Springfield
and Rockford. The rate doesn't take into account temporary changes in
cities' populations, such a visitors and commuters.

Rapidly growing Naperville, in suburban Chicago, saw the number of
crimes drop 3 percent from 1990 to 2000, even as its population grew
by more than 50 percent. That cut the crime rate 36 percent, to less
than 18 crimes per 1,000 people last year.

Naperville Police Chief David Dial credited a concentrated community
policing effort and a strong economy for his city's low crime rate.

"I think it's cause to celebrate," Dial said. "We hope we can keep it
up for the next decade."

The number of drug arrests statewide jumped from 45,880 in 1990 to
115,948 in 2000, a 152 percent increase. The rate of drug arrests per
1,000 Illinoisans climbed 132 percent in that time.

Although critics contend drug arrests absorb police resources and
fill prisons over relatively minor offenses, Olson said arresting
drug offenders keeps them from committing other crimes.

Dial said Naperville has seen a huge influx of so-called club drugs,
such as Ecstasy, in recent years. And he expects drug arrests to
continue climbing as those drugs become more popular among
teen-agers, a growing age group in the suburbs.

Plus, there likely will be more police officers than before to handle
the increase. The number of sworn law enforcement officers in
Illinois rose from 34,416 in 1990 to 41,170 in 2000, a nearly 20
percent increase.

Experts say the downward trend doesn't necessarily mean Illinois has
little crime to worry about, since some studies suggest a vast number
of crimes go unreported.

And even the reported statistics likely do not represent reality. The
2000 figures show large changes from the 1999 statistics, which based
the crime rate on population estimates. State Police spokesman Capt.
Dave Sanders said the department uses the best figures available, but
he acknowledged census-year data from 1990 and 2--- is likely to be
more reliable.