EPD on a precautionary pub crawl

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Updated: November 30, 2011 12:40AM

ELGIN — For the last couple of weeks and at the request of his boss, Elgin Police Sgt. Al Young has been going on a different sort of pub crawl.

Chief Jeff Swoboda has Young visiting Elgin watering holes to meet with those running the establishments to see what common issues they might be having. Young also has been gathering data and has been charged with coming up with a strategy for minimizing the need for police service at places where alcohol is being served.

Young said the move came about because of an increase in the number of calls and citizen complaints within the last month or so concerning bars and restaurants in the city. The number of calls is up compared to last year, too, Young said.

For instance, according to police reports, a 27-year-old man was taken to Provena Saint Joseph Hospital in the early morning hours of Sept. 17 after officers found him knocked out and bleeding in the parking lot behind Douglas Street Tap, 231 Douglas Ave. The man apparently had been involved in a fight, and police are reviewing security camera video to determine what happened.

Just down the block from that bar, a July 30 fight outside the Afterset between two men drew an unruly crowd of 150 to 200 people, and five arrests were made, police said.

Afterset is open just three nights a week and is right across the street from the police station at 158 Symphony Way. According to Young, it turned out the two combatants outside Afterset had a verbal altercation earlier that evening at JB’s Pub on McLean Boulevard, where they had been asked to leave. The arguing escalated at Afterset, resulting in a situation where Elgin police called in reinforcements from the Kane County Sheriff, South Elgin, Bartlett, Carpentersville, West Dundee, East Dundee, Metra and Illinois State Police departments.

According to police reports related to that brawl, “due to the establishment having such a high number of calls for service during those hours, several officers are needed on both Friday and Saturday nights to monitor the subjects letting out.”

Another report stated that police “recognized the Afterset bar to be well-known for active fights and other criminal activity on Saturday and Sunday mornings between the hours of 0300 hours and 0400 hours.”

Banning patrons

Young speculated that five to 10 people have been responsible for much if not most of the trouble happening at Elgin bars in recent months. At the police department’s urging, some establishments are putting together their own in-house lists of banned patrons. If a person shows up at a place from which he or she has been formally barred, police can make an arrest for trespassing.

And Swoboda noted the department has been “running calls for service for some of the establishments we routinely respond to. We identified what calls for service we believe the management could play a part in reducing. From there we ranked them and found that Afterset and Tilted Kilt (off Randall Road) were the highest. That is where we started.”

“So we’re in the process of developing an education program where managers of liquor establishments can learn how to prevent issues that can easily lead to police involvement,” he said.

“Issues like overcrowding and over-serving can compromise the safety of patrons and the security of businesses. We’re working to help establishments avert those issues by training their managers,” Swoboda said.

The program is being modeled after the city’s Crime Free Housing program, in which police hold landlord training sessions covering topics such as applicant screening and how to recognize possible criminal activity.

With bars, “Bouncer education will be a part of that training,” Swoboda said. “By educating bouncers to recognize IDs that have been compromised, or better recognize problem patrons, we’ll be able to help an establishment provide a more safe environment for everyone.”

Swoboda said such discussions already have reduced calls for service at Tilted Kilt.

Calling all bars

There are 69 bars or restaurants in Elgin where people can have a drink on the premises. Issues vary at them all , Young said.

As examples, Young said La Quebrada at 50 N. Spring St. downtown has had issues with underage drinking and over-served patrons, while Afterset has had problems with loud music, fighting, occupancy and public urination.

Young’s usual duties are with the Unit for Special Assignment, which typically deals with street-level gang and drug crime. And the department already has a “bar car,” a detail which keeps an eye on bars and restaurants, particularly those downtown.

Having Young oversee this assignment keeps the bar car on the street doing its typical job. So Young said he is working with a few people from different shifts, including Sgt. Jim Lalley and night shift commander Lt. Tom O’Herron.

Young is working to arrange a meeting to which representatives from all Elgin bars and restaurants will be invited “to get their input to see how they can help us,” Young said. Such a meeting would allow establishments to see if they might be having similar issues or troubles with the same people, he noted.

While Young said a goal of the project is to reduce violence, Swoboda added that he sees the effort as problem-solving, working with bars “so that we don’t have to be called.”

“The police department is obviously here to help our community combat crime. But we’re also here to serve the community by developing ways to prevent crime. We’re reaching out to help all liquor establishments understand how best to do that,” the chief said.

“We believe this approach will work. If bars or restaurants have trouble that make the papers, they’re going to lose business. It’s an incentive for them to work with us to curtail problems they might be having, and a win-win situation for them and for the city,” Young said.

Bar owner comments

Swoboda said police are “customizing education programs to meet the needs of requesting liquor establishments. JB’s, for example, approached us to educate them about the steps managers could take to reduce problem patrons, but we’re seeing some overlap and a much larger need.”

JB’s owner Jim Bollman said he appreciates Elgin police taking this proactive tact.

“They’s been outstanding to work with, and the lines of communication between the police and us are the best they have been in 30 years,” Bollman said.

Regarding calls about trouble, Swoboda said, “It’s bad for business to have a police presence at a bar or nightclub. Managers don’t want us there anymore than we want to be there. By educating managers in the front end, we’re making certain that the safety and welfare of all patrons is maintained.”

Bollman noted that 30 years ago, bar owners would have been wary of having police periodically walk through their establishments or having their presence known in the area.

As times have changed, nowadays such moves are seen as reassuring by owners and patrons alike, he said.