NEWS - LEXINGTON Police
LEXINGTON police
deficiencies affect other agencies
June 26, 2014 7:00 am • Edith Brady-Lunny [email protected]
LEXINGTON — The failure of the Lexington Police Department to complete paperwork on more than 100 crimes since 2008 and properly maintain evidence could have consequences beyond the borders of the rural McLean County community.
Investigators with the McLean County Sheriff's Department are reviewing 103 incidents dating back to 2008 in Lexington where police documentation of a crime was not completed. Officials also found problems with how evidence was stored. The exhaustive review of Lexington's police records was spurred by indications earlier this month by sheriff's investigators that criminal activity in the community of 2,000 people was not being reported. In a June 4 letter to Lexington Mayor John Mohr, Sheriff Mike Emery complained that "the lack of filing reports has complicated the services of my criminal investigation services." On seven recent occasions since January, Lexington officers were dispatched to calls related to potential felony burglaries or thefts but failed to file reports with the county's electronic records system, said Emery. Such a failure means report will not be available to other police agencies and the state's attorney's office where they would be screened for criminal charges. Lexington Police Chief Dave Schneider resigned June 7 in the wake of questions about the department's performance, and the agency's three part-time officers were laid off until a new chief is hired. Mohr said Wednesday he is confident that public safety will be protected through patrols by the sheriff's department, and the town will get through the rough spot with its police force. In the meantime, the mayor is answering calls from residents about pending reports and property recovered in burglaries. "There's no denying it's been difficult," said Mohr, adding that he was surprised at the number of reports not properly filed. Sheriff's Lt. Jon Sandage said the Criminal Investigations Division will prioritize the reports according to severity of the complaints and statute of limitations issues that may make some case too old to litigate. Sandage said an investigation into a rural Lexington burglary was delayed when it became apparent that a potentially related crime in Lexington was not properly reported. The lack of reporting did not end with the county's filing system. The Illinois State Police system also did not receive a single report from Lexington in 2011, said Emery, a failure that affects statewide crime data. McLean County State's Attorney Jason Chambers said Wednesday his office will manage the potential influx of cases requiring review. He said inadequate police work in a community can diminish public confidence in the legal system. "It's always important for people to know that if they call police, the process is going to work," said Chambers. Concerns also exist with Lexington's evidence room. Guns, drugs and cash are among undocumented items, said Emery. Registration of three sex offenders living in the town will be monitored by the county — another task normally done by local police. One Lexington City Council member who served as Lexington chief for 20 years is withholding judgment on the department until he sees more proof of the deficiencies. Spencer Johansen, who left office in 2008, a year after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer' disease, described Schneider as a "damn good policeman" during the time he worked for him. Johansen has criticized the decision to lay off the officers instead of appointing an interim chief from the ranks. "I probably have some sort of blinders on but I know these guys. I have a hard time believing there was criminal activity that wasn't reported," said the former chief. Emery said Lexington residents with questions about the status of a report may contact the sheriff's department at 309-888-5051. |
LEXINGTON — JOHN was well aware of how the tickets were being filed.
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