A Park Junior High School student was robbed on the blocks of Ashland and Maple Avenue in La Grange on Jan. 19 at 4:07 p.m. About half an hour later, an attempted armed robbery against an LT student took place near the main entrance of South Campus in Western Springs. These two incidents reflect a recent rise in crime, Western Springs Chief of Police Brian Budds said.

Although police have yet to identify suspects in the attempted armed robbery at SC, the investigation remains ongoing.

“We continue to work closely with the La Grange Police Department in investigating [the attempted robbery at SC and the robbery on Ashland and Maple] which I firmly believe are related,” Budds said.

Another incident occurred on Feb. 9 at 9:29 p.m. when an aggravated carjacking of a teenager’s car took place outside of a private residence in Western Springs. The investigation is ongoing for that particular matter as well, and police will increase residential patrol in response, according to a Western Springs Police Department press release.

“I’ve always considered La Grange and the surrounding suburbs [to be] very safe neighborhoods and the recent increase in crime definitely changes that,” La Grange resident Olivia Berley ‘18 said. “It puts that element of fear in my mind of, ‘what if it happens to me?’”

Although there has been an increase in crime, it does not necessarily reflect the overall safety of the community, police said.

“I want to emphasize that the Village of Western Springs is a very safe community with a very low crime rate,” Budds said. “We will continue to encourage our residents to stay vigilant, be aware of suspicious persons, vehicles and situations and to contact the police department immediately if you observe suspicious or criminal behavior.”

To stay safe, community members should try to walk in groups and be aware of their surroundings. Residents should also lock their vehicle doors and homes because property crimes are typically crimes of opportunity, Budds said.

“We’re fortunate that we have two safe campuses so when incidents like these happen, they are surprising because they don’t happen very often in our community,” LT principal Dr. Brian Waterman said. “It serves as a both an eye opener that we do have to make sure we take steps to stay safe, and also as a great reminder of how safe our community is.”