Oak Park PD is going to need a highly trained bmx squad soon

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on September 17, 2014 at 3:08pm

I was surprised that the police spokesman was willing to make such a statement to the media.

That said, when I was looking to buy a home ~ 12 years ago, I was warned by several Oak Parkers to avoid the dreaded "east of Ridgeland" (I was actually looking in Austin and had offers on two properties there.) I don't think Austin Blvd is the clear divider between civilized suburban beings and unruly "urbanites" it was back in the 80s and 90s.

Chitown_Mike said:

I like how OPPD blames it on bordering with Chicago.  Unless you are from the area, 90% of the people driving from Chicago into Oak Park won't notice they are in the suburb if they didn't see a welcome sign, a municipality car, or the street name signs change.

However cops on BMX bikes would be a sight to see, especially if one performed a superman and caught a suspect mid-air!

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Permalink Reply by Chitown_Mike on September 17, 2014 at 4:43pm

I rode down there recently and if I hadn't been paying attention I wouldn't have known I was in Oak Park until I stopped to ask a police officer for directions.

Perhaps it is a northside thing but the vagueness of the Chicago/burb boundaries leads a lot of people to think they are still in Chicago, or said suburb.  I know where the cut off is but most people don't unless they are from around here.  I still don't see how Chicago is that more dense of a population than Oak Park that the perps could disappear like they said they do.

h' 1.0 said:

I was surprised that the police spokesman was willing to make such a statement to the media.

That said, when I was looking to buy a home ~ 12 years ago, I was warned by several Oak Parkers to avoid the dreaded "east of Ridgeland" (I was actually looking in Austin and had offers on two properties there.) I don't think Austin Blvd is the clear divider between civilized suburban beings and unruly "urbanites" it was back in the 80s and 90s.

Chitown_Mike said:

I like how OPPD blames it on bordering with Chicago.  Unless you are from the area, 90% of the people driving from Chicago into Oak Park won't notice they are in the suburb if they didn't see a welcome sign, a municipality car, or the street name signs change.

However cops on BMX bikes would be a sight to see, especially if one performed a superman and caught a suspect mid-air!

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Permalink Reply by Tricolor on September 17, 2014 at 5:29pm

Proper grabs depend on speed.  It's over and done before the victim has time to collect their wits or anyone else realizes what's happened.  I'd want something with small (low inertia) wheels, low gearing and no speeds to worry about in order to make a rapid escape.  Being able to bash it, make sweet jumps, bunny hop curbs and bail quickly if needed all make a BMX preferable to anything else.

And no cop on an Trek MTB with a twenty pound load is going to get close.

Gecko said:

Why BMX specifically?  The article doesn't mention BMX anywhere.

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on September 17, 2014 at 5:57pm

Thanks, pretty much where I was going but much better said than I could have.
 
Tricolor said:

Proper grabs depend on speed.  It's over and done before the victim has time to collect their wits or anyone else realizes what's happened.  I'd want something with small (low inertia) wheels, low gearing and no speeds to worry about in order to make a rapid escape.  Being able to bash it, make sweet jumps, bunny hop curbs and bail quickly if needed all make a BMX preferable to anything else.

And no cop on an Trek MTB with a twenty pound load is going to get close.

Gecko said:

Why BMX specifically?  The article doesn't mention BMX anywhere.

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Permalink Reply by ad on September 18, 2014 at 9:01am

I live in the southeast corner of OP, just a few blocks west of Austin.  The whole density comment is a little strange as most would agree the part of OP boarding Austin is just as dense population-wise as Austin itself, but the OPPD is correct that quite bit of the petty, non-violent crime that occurs in the area we're talking about is traced back to Chicago residents when an offender is actually caught.  I think the whole "density" comment relates more to the fact that Austin often has a lot more people out on the sidewalks hanging out (especially on Madison St. and Lake St.), waiting for public transportation, etc., so it's easier for an offender to slip into the neighborhood and go unnoticed.   

Austin is huge, with parts that consist of people that take great care of their homes and their neighbors, and parts that could easily be described as some of the worse areas of Chicago, especially the closer you get to West Garfield.  It's not like OP doesn't have its own criminal element living within its boarders and lurking about, but it's also an area where thieves have learned they can cruise alleys and find a quick score from an open garage door or someone leaving something valuable in a backyard.  In other words, while the OP police department's comments seem strange, the comments are pretty close to the reality of what is occurring crime-wise in the area.           

Chitown_Mike said:

I rode down there recently and if I hadn't been paying attention I wouldn't have known I was in Oak Park until I stopped to ask a police officer for directions.

Perhaps it is a northside thing but the vagueness of the Chicago/burb boundaries leads a lot of people to think they are still in Chicago, or said suburb.  I know where the cut off is but most people don't unless they are from around here.  I still don't see how Chicago is that more dense of a population than Oak Park that the perps could disappear like they said they do.

h' 1.0 said:

I was surprised that the police spokesman was willing to make such a statement to the media.

That said, when I was looking to buy a home ~ 12 years ago, I was warned by several Oak Parkers to avoid the dreaded "east of Ridgeland" (I was actually looking in Austin and had offers on two properties there.) I don't think Austin Blvd is the clear divider between civilized suburban beings and unruly "urbanites" it was back in the 80s and 90s.

Chitown_Mike said:

I like how OPPD blames it on bordering with Chicago.  Unless you are from the area, 90% of the people driving from Chicago into Oak Park won't notice they are in the suburb if they didn't see a welcome sign, a municipality car, or the street name signs change.

However cops on BMX bikes would be a sight to see, especially if one performed a superman and caught a suspect mid-air!

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 18, 2014 at 9:13am

Well said. That matches up pretty well with what I've heard from friends living in OP between Austin and Ridgeland.

Seems like most folks in the Chicago area who haven't explored Austin aren't aware of the nice areas, or places that may not be fancy but where residents obviously care about their block and take care of the area around their homes.  As with many neighborhoods, there are plenty of exceptions to the stereotype.

ad said:

I live in the southeast corner of OP, just a few blocks west of Austin.  The whole density comment is a little strange as most would agree the part of OP boarding Austin is just as dense population-wise as Austin itself, but the OPPD is correct that quite bit of the petty, non-violent crime that occurs in the area we're talking about is traced back to Chicago residents when an offender is actually caught.  I think the whole "density" comment relates more to the fact that Austin often has a lot more people out on the sidewalks hanging out (especially on Madison St. and Lake St.), waiting for public transportation, etc., so it's easier for an offender to slip into the neighborhood and go unnoticed.   

Austin is huge, with parts that consist of people that take great care of their homes and their neighbors, and parts that could easily be described as some of the worse areas of Chicago, especially the closer you get to West Garfield.  It's not like OP doesn't have its own criminal element living within its boarders and lurking about, but it's also an area where thieves have learned they can cruise alleys and find a quick score from an open garage door or someone leaving something valuable in a backyard.  In other words, while the OP police department's comments seem strange, the comments are pretty close to the reality of what is occurring crime-wise in the area.           

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