Illinois Police Crackdown Results in 79 Charges in Just 1 Place

There is an ongoing effort to suppress violent crime in Illinois and a new crackdown resulted in a staggering 79 criminal charges in just one place.

The Public Information Office of the Illinois State Police just released results of an operation that just completed from November 20 through November 22 in the metro area of East St. Louis, Illinois.  They said their sting focused on "high crime areas, violent offenders, and structured criminal groups". Here are the numbers calculated from this recent campaign:

• Arrests - 34
• Felony Charges - 46
• Criminal Charges - 79
• Firearm Related Charges - 19
• Firearms Seized - 8
• Controlled Substance Seized - 177.7 grams
• Stolen Vehicles Recovered - 3

It was an eventful 3-nights in East St. Louis as they attempted to stop a vehicle on November 18, but it fled. A second attempt to stop the vehicle led to the suspect ramming the Illinois State Police car. Once the suspect was apprehended, the officers learned that the vehicle had been reported stolen and they found a firearm inside.

Another traffic stop the following night resulted in Illinois police finding "a loaded firearm with an extended magazine, suspected oxycodone, and over 400 grams of cannabis". One suspect was arrested in that stop.

40 Illinois police officers in total participated in this 3-night East St. Louis crackdown including "Troop 3, Troop 6, Troop 7, Troop 8, Troop 9, Troop 10, South Fatal Four Team, Division of Criminal Investigation Zone 6, Firearms Investigations Unit, Crime Scene, Air Operations, and the Public Safety Enforcement Group...with the Division of Patrol’s Special Operation Group South Statewide Anti-Violence Enforcement Unit".