It was standing room only last Thursday night as over 230 people crowded into the Hatch School auditorium, 1000 N. Ridgeland Ave., to discuss ways of responding to a recent string of armed robberies in the northeast Oak Park area.

Organized by area resident-turned activist Janis Sanchez and hosted by the Oak Park police department, the two hour session gathered input from residents and aired wide ranging resident concerns and criticisms.

Oak Park Deputy Chief of Police Robert Scianna began the meeting by praising the strong response from area residents, saying he’d never seen such a strong community turnout in his 33 years on the force. Accompanied by Commander Wayne Banta, School Resource Officer Rasul Freelain and Detective Paul Kerely, Scianna reviewed recent area events, and outlined the police response.

Community concern had risen in the wake of six armed robberies of area residents between July 26 and August 9, along with numerous garage and home burglaries.

While police can’t be absolutely certain, they believe they’ve stopped one robbery crew with the arrest of Chris Harris, 43, a career criminal with 13 prior convictions.

"My guess is they got an education when their partner got caught," Scianna said of the other men involved in the robberies. "But we can’t guarantee that."

When one audience member pointedly asked why police didn’t pass out a flyer immediately after the first two incidents July 26, Scianna responded that police weren’t able to discern any pattern from the first two crimes, and had no reliable description. But when a similar robbery took place nine days later, he said, detectives quickly noted a pattern, developed a strategy, and focused additional resources in the area.

"Each step of the way we ratcheted up our response," said Scianna.

Scianna stressed that his department’s resources are not unlimited, and that squad cars assigned to one area mean fewer squads in other areas.

"We have to be very careful about where we shift people," he said.

Communication, said Scianna is key to any successful crime prevention program.

Scianna urged people to contact the police whenever they see or hear anything that feels like trouble.

"If we don’t get phone calls, if we don’t get the information, we can’t get over there and make the arrests."

Scianna also praised Oak Park’s two newspapers, saying that they do a good job of reporting on crime in the village, and are a key way in which the police communicate with residents.

"We want to tell them what’s going on so they can tell you what’s going on," he said.

Asked about "reverse 911" that would allow police to communicate with residents, Scianna said that the village possessed such capability, but was still perfecting it."

The best way to spread the word, Scianna said, to general agreement, is to have a system of block captains. Noting that Sanchez was seeking volunteers for block captain roles, he noted that the job won’t be too much of a burden, saying, "The only thing you’ll be responsible for passing is on information."

There are a number of things people can do on their own to help avoid becoming victims, Scianna noted, such as being more alert in their every day lives.

"Never let your guard down while parking your car," he said.

Reading from a list of resident-generated ideas for improving safety, Scianna mentioned motion sensor lights and said, "That’s the greatest thing in the world since sliced bread. Thieves like to do things in darkness."

Lizzette Marshall, who said she was a former Austin resident who still teaches in Austin, said that people need to be more concerned with their duties as citizens and stand up to neighborhood problems.

"They see us as afraid and easy prey," she said. "If we don’t stop being afraid, they’re going to take over our whole community. They smell the fear."

Scianna responded "We don’t expect you to do it by yourself, and we don’t expect to do it by ourselves."

Several people in the crowd appeared frustrated at times with some of Scianna’s answers. In part that was due to numerous questions being about policy issues, which, Scianna noted several times, the police department has no authority over.

Another person asked "How many council members are here?" Scianna responded that the meeting was called on relatively short notice, and said "I’m not going to criticize who is and who isn’t here. They’ll be here for the regularly scheduled meetings."

That first regularly schedule Zone 1 meeting, he said, will be sometime in September.

For organizer Sanchez, things couldn’t have turned out better. In the hallway afterwards, two dozen people lined up to jot down their phone numbers and emails. In all, Sanchez now has contact information on over 200 area residents.

"I think there was astounding response," she said Friday, adding that people from as far away as Chicago Avenue attended the meeting. "Six people signed up for block captain spots."

"We’ve already started sharing ideas on what we can do," said Sanchez. That sharing process will continue informally for residents of Sanchez’s 1000 block of Mapleton this Sunday at their annual block party.

"Bring your coffee mug and be ready to sit and talk," she said.