Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comments from the March 18 meeting of the Springfield City Council. Four Springfield police officers were disciplined – and one of them will serve a six-day unpaid suspension – in connection with their work at the site of a Sept. 5 car-motorcycle collision in which a recently […]
springfield police department
Posted inOpinion
Sniffing out trouble
Springfield patrol officer Dave Pletsch prepares for a training search with his dog, Utah, in a building on the Illinois State Fair Grounds. PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE Inside a livestock building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds, a man is hiding stashes of marijuana, methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine in state-owned work vehicles parked inside for the […]
Posted inOpinion
Drug dogs fail the sniff test
Flip a coin and pick a side. Repeat 50 times. Chances are, you’ll guess the coin toss more often than drug-sniffing police dogs in Springfield found contraband during traffic stops in 2012. Traffic stop data reported by the Springfield Police Department shows the police found contraband in 25 percent of searches prompted by a drug […]
Posted inOpinion
Panhandlers sue city
Two Springfield panhandlers filed a federal class action lawsuit against the City of Springfield and a handful of city police officers on Tuesday, alleging the city and the officers violate panhandlers’ right to free speech by ticketing and arresting them. Don Norton and Karen Otterson, both of Springfield, often panhandle for money in and around […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask
Stumbled upon this site, Crime Reports, and wanted to share it. Plug in Springfield, Illinois and whammy – all the statistics for crime in our fair city – the third most dangerous city in the U.S., according to some.
Posted inOpinion
City seeking minority police recruits
The Springfield Police Department hopes to hire new patrol officers in the coming months, with minorities to comprise a quarter of the new hires. On Aug. 4, Mayor Michael Houston announced the city would begin in September the recruitment process for new police hires for the first time in two years. Houston also took a […]
Posted inOpinion
My night on patrol with the Springfield police
It’s dark while I’m seated in the front passenger side of a Springfield Police Department squad car. I feel my voice box drop into my stomach to stay for a while as a handcuffed male suspect arrested for alleged criminal trespassing at Mac’s Lounge climbs into the back seat. The driver’s seat is empty while […]
Posted inOpinion
Paper and perks, top issues for city clerk candidates
Democrat Frank Kunz, 3rd Ward alderman and candidate for mayor of Springfield, says “everything just moves quicker” at the city clerk’s office since Cecilia Tumulty took the helm in 2003. Kunz began his career as alderman in 1999, the same year as Tumulty. He says she has made information a lot easier to come by […]
