The Arlington Heights Police Department is aware of “creepy clowns” incidents that have been reported across the nation and in some Chicago suburbs. In Arlington Heights, there have been four instances of citizens reporting incidents involving clowns.
In all four reported incidents police responded, police searched the area, and no suspicious suspects were found.
The first incident occurred in the area of Northwest Highway and Dunton Avenue. A male was seen riding a bicycle wearing a clown mask. The area was searched; however the male was not located. There were no additional calls regarding this incident.
The second incident occurred in the area of Carefree Park 1231 S. Belmont; the caller saw a suspicious person/vehicle and thought it might be related to the suspicious clown sightings. The caller did not actually see a clown, but saw a male in a white jumpsuit go into the wooded area near the park. The area was searched for this individual, he was not located. There were no additional calls regarding this incident.
The third incident occurred at Westgate Park 211 North Reuter; the caller reported seeing a person wearing a clown mask exit the park.The area was searched, however, this person, was not located. There were no additional calls regarding this incident.
The fourth incident occurred in the 1500 block of West Vine Street, the caller reported seeing a person wearing a clown mask in the neighborhood. The area was searched; however, the person was not located. There were no additional calls regarding this incident.
The Arlington Heights Police Department will continue to respond to all calls of suspicious people and investigate them thoroughly. If you see any suspicious person or activity, please do not approach or put yourself in harm’s way, call 9-1-1 immediately to have officers respond and investigate.
The Arlington Heights Police Department did not release the time or dates when these incidents were reported.
Anyone having information about this or any other serious crime in Arlington Heights should submit an anonymous text tip by texting the keyword 847AHPD and your message to 847411(tip411) or call Arlington Heights Crime Stoppers at (847) 590-STOP.
Callers are guaranteed anonymity and may qualify for a cash reward of up to $1,000.
IMPORTANT ALERT …
Cardinal Note: As of June 5, 2013 — up to and including the date of this article — police incidents related to the above police agency are not reported in real time or within a prompt time period. Police protecting their realm of investigation and police activity, have chosen to use secret military-grade encrypted radios to withhold their police communications, which were previously open to the public and news media via monitoring of public safety scanning radios — with no known negative results locally.
The delayed knowledge or entirely blacked out knowledge resulting from encrypted police communications may protect certain police operations and investigations, but it also puts the public at risk in situations such as when armed and dangerous offenders are at large and when other similar situations occur, such as when desperate offenders of property crimes are eluding police. In other cases, the delayed or blacked out information inhibits or prohibits the possibility of the public providing early witness accounts before a criminal trail goes cold. Citizens are much more likely to recognize or recall suspicious or criminal activity if they are aware of the criminal incident within minutes or hours of its occurrence. The most serious incident involving dire results would be a trail that is allowed to go cold in the case of child abduction.
The lack of real time information from public police dispatch also weakens an effective neighborhood watch program mostly working to prevent property loss, but also working to prevent possible violent crimes.
Lack of real time information from police dispatch also delays public awareness or eliminates public awareness of general hazards and traffic or other situations in every day living in an otherwise economically thriving community.
Police have alternate ways to transmit tactical, operational or investigative information, while still keeping their main public dispatch channels open for the best balance of public safety and police safety.
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