As the mercury starts to climb this spring, Evanston police said they are expecting a related increase in break-ins and thefts.

“It’s a trend that we see crime tied to warmer weather,” said Cmdr. Chuck Wernick of the Evanston Police Department.

To combat the spring crime trend, Wernick said the department runs a summer plan that includes additional officers on the streets from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. and outreach workers who help Evanston kids find jobs, Wernick said.

But aside from seasonal concerns, overall crime in the city has been on a slight rise.

In EPD’s annual report released March 2, the 2000 crime index rose by 0.6 percent. The index tracks property and violent crime totals reported during the year.

Most of the increase can be attributed to car thefts, which rose 15 percent last year to 219 reported incidents. Car thefts made up 4.8 percent of the crime index.

The 2000 index’s increase was the first time total crime has risen since 1997. In 1998 crime dropped 26 percent from the previous year and continued to decline by 8 percent in 1999, according to the report.

Wernick said attention should be paid to any increase in crime, but the 0.6 percent increase is fairly insignificant.

“I don’t think it’s anything to really worry about,” he said.

Despite the slight overall increase, EPD officials stressed the 32 percent drop since 1997.

In a press release, Chief Frank Kaminski said, “I’m encouraged by our crime trends and what it implies about Evanston’s partnership style of community problem-solving.”

Violent crime in Evanston decreased by 2.9 percent last year, according to the statistics.

“We attribute that (decrease) specifically to a decrease in robberies,” said Lt. Joe Bellino of EPD. “Evanston’s 2000 crime index continued (from 1999) to remain at levels we haven’t seen since the ’80s and the ’70s.”

Property crime – burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft and arson – made up 93 percent of the crime index. While it increased 0.8 percent from 1999 – including the rise in motor vehicle thefts – property crime still is down 32 percent since 1997.

EPD has taken a three-pronged approach to cracking down on vehicle crimes, which also are more prevalent in spring and summer months, Bellino said. He hopes that having more plainclothes officers patrolling in unmarked vehicles or on bicycles, in addition to more visible officers on the streets, will deter criminals from car break-ins.

But resident awareness remains an untapped weapon, Bellino said.

“A lot of these times we have cars that are left running with the keys in the ignition,” he said. “So many crimes are crimes of opportunity. You have to be cognizant of that sort of thing and take some crime prevention actions on your part as a citizen.”

Sexual assault (down 25 percent from 1999 to nine incidents) and arson (down 15 percent from last year to 22 cases) were the two largest crime decreases.

Homicides have steadily decreased since the 1970s, according to the report. There was one reported murder in 2000.

Overall, EPD officials said they are pleased with the 2000 crime index.

“While I caution against relying solely on numbers to assess progress to a crime-free community, it is true that these trends indicate improvement in the overall well-being of our community,” Kaminski said in the press release.

City Manager Roger Crum echoed Kaminski’s optimism.

“Taking any statistic out of context is difficult – good or bad,” Crum said. “Crime has not gone away. It’s not going to go away. But low is good.”

University Police also has seen a drop-off in crime since the early 1990s.

“A lot of the trends go the same way the economy goes,” said Sgt. Dave Perkins of UP.

He said he couldn’t say whether crime increases as the economy slows, but he knows from his 10 years at NU that “when the economy started getting better crime started dropping.”

Property crimes, including thefts of bikes, purses and wallets are the most frequent campus crimes, Perkins said. Bike thefts have dropped dramatically since the early 1990s, he said.