Crime & Safety

PHOTOS: Cook County Sweep Nets 11 Arrests, 2 Gang-Related

Operation targets warrant arrests, evictions, street gangs and area beautification.

In an attempt to help clean up the ever growing problems that continue to arise in many of our communities, Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart has initiated a complete ‘sweep,’ starting with Harvey, Illinois.

Last Wednesday, Sheriff’s Deputies and Police Officers traveled to Harveywith more than 200 warrants for wanted individuals in the area. By the end of the day, they had apprehended 22 wanted fugitives who had charges ranging from misdemeanors, such as driving on a suspended license and domestic battery, to felony charges of burglary, forgery, robbery, retail theft, and unlawful use of a weapon.

In all, there were nine arrests made for felony charges, eleven for misdemeanors and two individuals that were arrested on two charges each—one on a felony and a misdemeanor and the other on two felony charges.

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Along with the warrant sweep, the Sheriff sent out his evictions crew to enforce eviction orders for the area. At the conclusion of the day, they had completed multiple evictions, including one on the 0-100 Block of West 154th Street where the residence was unoccupied with the exception of 3 pitbull puppies and 1 exotic bird that were recovered. All were in questionable condition. The animals were turned over to Harvey Animal Control.

Also on the street was the Cook County Sheriff’s Gang Task Force. Through aggressive street tactical suppression, 15 arrests were made by gang officers, most of which were drug related.

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“We will continue to have our gang team focus on this area to let the gangbangers in Harvey know that their behavior will not be tolerated,” said Sheriff Dart.

The Cook County Sheriff’s Animal Crimes Unit took part in the sweep as well, focusing on leads that were coming in for the Harvey area and aggressively responding to them. They managed to take four dogs from two separate homes. The dogs were all found living in deplorable conditions and ultimately were turned over by their owners and transported to the South Suburban Humane Society.

The Sheriff will continue his efforts in Harvey with a ‘clean and green’ initiative that focuses on parks and recreational areas. The Sheriff’s Work Alternative Program is coordinating with the park district in Harvey to send crews out to clean up and restore their parks, which have been neglected for years. “Only after we clean up years of mess, can we begin to repair the damage and create new opportunities for the community,” said Sheriff Dart.

In addition to the aggressive law enforcement operations and ongoing clean up of the area, Sheriff Dart also has donated time and resources to the Harvey Police Department over the course of the past year.

“We have donated used desk top computers, are currently assisting with open homicide cases, and have offered to provide a case management system that will better help them track their investigations,” said Sheriff Dart. “Despite our own limited resources, we will always do as much as we can to help lend a hand to any and all towns in Cook County. Partnering with Municipalities on large scale operations, such as this, gives us strength in numbers to repair communities and fight crime in ways that small towns simply cannot do on their own.”

*The above was a media announcement from the Cook County Sheriff's Department.

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