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Manhattan police: SafeWise ranking, $20,000 body‑camera grant and traffic concerns
Summary
The police chief reported Manhattan ranked sixth among Illinois communities in a SafeWise study, the department received a $20,000 body‑camera grant from the Illinois Law Enforcement and Training Board, and the chief described traffic and accident trends that the department plans to address.
The Manhattan police chief reported the village was ranked sixth among the top 10 safest communities in Illinois by SafeWise and thanked officers and staff for their work. The chief said the SafeWise ranking is based on FBI crime statistics and reflects declines in crimes against people alongside a small increase in property crimes.
The chief told the board the department recently secured a $20,000 grant from the Illinois Law Enforcement and Training Board to assist with body‑camera costs, noting the village typically spends about $17,000 a year for in‑car and body camera data storage. He said the grant will help cover those unfunded mandates.
On traffic, the chief said there were 15 accidents in January and that the department was responding to a likely fatal crash at M And M and Schoolhouse during the meeting; he urged drivers to observe the newly lowered speed limits and warned that GPS devices have not been updated to reflect the change. The chief characterized the property‑crime increase as things like vehicle tampering and theft and said crimes against people were down by more than 10 percent year to date.
Trustees thanked the chief; no formal action was taken on these items during the meeting.
