Dixon police, fire incidents increase in 2007
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| Alex T. Paschal/ A Dixon firefighter tosses debris from a window at the scene of a house fire Monday morning. |
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DIXON -- The city police and fire departments had another year of increased activity, according to their 2007 incident reports.
Dixon City Fire responded to more calls because of a new state law mandating carbon monoxide detectors in homes, while police continued to step up their community policing efforts.
A total of 303 fire responses were reported last year, compared to 277 in 2006, a 9 percent increase, and 228 in 2005. Combined fire and emergency medical services responses totaled 1,558.
In 2006, police answered 13,237 calls, handled 574 accidents, issued 1,857 traffic citations and 176 ordinance citations. In 2007, there were 14,051 calls, a 6 percent increase; 637 accidents, a 11 percent increase; 1,894 traffic citations, a 2 percent increase; and 202 ordinance citations, a 15 percent increase.
Looking at felony and misdemeanor charges, there were 1,208 last year and 1,043 in 2006, reflecting a 16 percent increase.
Juvenile cases also rose from 221 to 338, up 53 percent.
Police Chief Gary Coppotelli said he had no answer as to why juvenile cases had spiked last year.
"Things vary from year to year. There's no factors I can put to it," he said.
Most of the cases police handled in 2007 were crimes against children, drug investigations and business burglaries.
There were 238 arrests somehow involving drugs. Comparatively, the department made 312 drug-related arrests in 2006 and 244 in 2005.
Some of the biggest busts came from two major investigations: Operation Joint Endeavor, in March 2007, yielded the arrests of 11 people charged with selling cocaine and marijuana; Operation Pest Control, in September, saw five people arrested for selling cocaine and marijuana.
Coppotelli said his department tries to manage the drug problem through aggressive enforcement while the legal system helps with tough prosecution and the drug court, which focuses on rehabilitation.
"It is such a complex problem, and I have no answer as to how this problem will ever be eradicated. We will never give up, however," he said.
Six businesses Ñ BBY, Sauk Valley Motors, Credit Auto Sales, Instant Car Credit, Town-N-County Restaurant and Arthur's Garden Deli Ñ were burglarized from August to October. Keith and Michelle Kehl are charged with burglary and are awaiting trial.
When it comes to combating criminal behavior, Coppotelli said community policing is the only way to do business.
"We cannot hope to achieve success if our citizens do not trust us. They have been invaluable in addressing the drug issue and many other issues," the chief said.
Last year, the department added a few new community events, including May's Spring into Safety Fair, and started peer jury program, in which teens mete out punishment to fellow teens for first-time offenses. The program began in January and so far has heard 19 cases.
The fire department responded to a variety of calls ranging from structure fires, vehicle fires, downed power lines, smoke investigations, unauthorized burning and automatic alarms.
Calls might be up because of a new state law requiring homes to have carbon monoxide detectors; the department went on 51 carbon monoxide calls, Fire Chief Dean Rhodes said.
"The law has made more people aware, and with the increased number of detectors, we've had a lot of false alarms and also real alarms that I think have saved lives," Rhodes said.
In 2007, estimated losses to fire were $73,615 versus $201,2000 in 2006 and $723,325 in 2005.
Rhodes attributed the decrease to a lesser amount of "big-ticket fires" in 2007, but that doesn't appear to be this case this year.
"Since the beginning of this year, we've had four house fires. We've been busy. Two have been total losses," Rhodes said.
One fire was on Monroe Avenue, the other on Douglas Avenue. The Douglas fire, which happened March 12, is thought to be arson; it is under investigation by the state fire marshall.
The department doesn't chart fire causes, but anecdotally, faulty wiring, improper use of smoking materials and unattended fires cause many blazes, Rhodes said.
The most calls were false security alarms and false fire calls, at 123; actual fires came in second at 65.
About 82 percent of responses were within the department's fire district and 15 percent were mutual aid.
Thirty-six percent were to residences; nursing homes, prisons and jails (all in the same category) represented 15 percent.
Reach Malinda Osborne at (815) 284-2222 or (800) 798-4085, ext. 526.
2007 Dixon Police Department by the numbers
Criminal charges
112 Domestic battery
101 Consumption of alcohol as a minor
96 Forgery
66 Burglary
63 Possession of marijuana
60 Resisting/obstructing a peace officer
38 Aggravated battery
36 Possession of drug equipment
30 Possession of alcohol as a minor
28 Criminal damage to property, less than $300
26 Aggravated criminal sexual abuse
16 Manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance
10 Criminal sexual assault
10 Predatory criminal sexual assault of a child
Ordinance citations
81 Tobacco - possession/ purchase/delivery
48 Consumption/possession of alcohol in public
14 Dog running at large
14 Skateboards/rollerblades/bicycles downtown
10 Unnecessary noise
