Dec. 24--Orland Park police say they made a big dent in residential and commercial burglaries in 2014.
Mayor Dan McLaughlin highlighted a more than 50 percent reduction in burglaries compared with 2013 in an end-of-year statement on the village website.
At the end of November there had been 26 burglaries in Orland Park, down from 64 last year, Police Chief Tim McCarthy said. Between 2010 and 2012, the village saw between 38 and 46 burglaries per year, he said.
"Last year was kind of a bump up, but it was largely an increase in ruse burglaries," McCarthy said, referring to crimes where one person attempts to distract a homeowner so an accomplice can enter and steal items unnoticed.
He declined to comment on some measures police have taken to crack down on ruse burglaries to avoid giving potential burglars a look at their playbook, but said he thinks efforts to educate the public are paying off. The police department and the village have warned residents in meetings, newsletters and messages sent through the CodeRed emergency notification system, he said.
"Earlier this year, we had a possible attempt at a ruse burglary but the resident knew what was going on and called police," McCarthy said.
He said there had been four attempts at ruse burglaries this year and though two were successful, that was "way, way down."
McCarthy said they would continue warning residents about the possibility of ruse burglaries year-round.
"Whether they're happening in our neighborhood or another neighborhood, we know they're still going on," he said. "It happens 12 months a year. There's a ruse that fits every season."
