Skip to content
Deerfield police recently released their yearly report showing the full picture of their work in 2018.
Steve Sadin / Pioneer Press
Deerfield police recently released their yearly report showing the full picture of their work in 2018.
Author
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:

Oftentimes by design, Deerfield police officers issued more warnings than tickets to drivers in 2018 after they used a similar approach to traffic stops the year before.

Police Chief John Sliozis said many officers in recent years have found that issuing warnings can be just as effective when it comes to deterring bad driving habits on local roads.

“We have a lot of internal discussions about that,” Sliozis said. “Officers use their discretion. A warning can be just as effective as a ticket to get people to comply and not become repeat offenders.”

Deerfield police detailed the latest annual statistics on traffic stops, vehicle crashes and serious crimes in the village in the department’s Annual Report for 2018, which was released earlier this year.

Of the 11,191 traffic stops that Deerfield police made last year, officers issued 8,360 warnings and 3,725 tickets.

In 2017, Deerfield police showed similar tendencies. Officers made 8,720 stops, issuing 6,661 warnings and 2,856 citations, according to the report.

Sliozis said the increase in traffic stops is the result of more personnel and targeted enforcement programs. As for the warnings, Sliozis said drivers with past offenses on their driving record are more likely to be ticketed in the village.

The annual report also shows the number of serious crimes in Deerfield remaining relatively constant over the past five years. But the most prevalent offense over that time has been theft, according to the report.

The only homicide in Deerfield since 2014 also happened last year, when authorities charged Gary Kamen with murdering his wife, Karyn Kamen, in late September. Gary Kamen now is awaiting trial.

In total, 33 crimes happened in 2018 in Deerfield that were considered serious by the Illinois Uniform Crime Reporting Program and the FBI, including many instances of burglary and vehicle theft, according to the department’s report.

Sliozis said the uptick in theft of both personal property and vehicles primarily is attributable to an organized effort the past two years to steal and burglarize unlocked cars.

In the past two years, 14 cars have been reported stolen in the village, while five cars were reported stolen through the first quarter of 2019, Sliozis said. He said the increase of thefts, which increased from 101 in 2017 to 116 in 2018, primarily is the result of people leaving their cars unlocked.

“Every time a car was stolen, the fob was left in the vehicle,” Sliozis said. “The same was true with the car burglaries. Groups come up here in a car that’s usually stolen, the passengers get out and keep walking along until they find one open. It’s happening throughout the Chicagoland area.”

Steve Sadin is freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.