New 16th District police commander meets with Jefferson Park group

by BRIAN NADIG

When it comes to how safe a community is, public perception cannot be ignored, according to recently appointed 16th (Jefferson Park) Police District commander Robert Vanna.

“What matters most is how you feel out in your neighborhoods,” Vanna said at the Aug. 28 meeting of the Jefferson Park Neighborhood Association. “Regardless of what (the crime stats are), everyone in the community wants to feel safe.”

When it comes to developing crime-fighting strategies and allocating resources, the district’s success will depend on its outreach to the community and residents’ willingness to call 911 when they see suspicious activity and to work together with police, Vanna said “Personally I think it’s about communication. I need the calls for service and know what you’re seeing. … I have limited resources,” Vanna said. He added that the 16th District is “very police friendly” and investigations may rely on footage from home surveillance cameras.

Officers deal with a variety of quality-of-life issues and can serve as “that conduit” which connects a neighborhood with the proper agency, whether to bring homeless outreach or other services out to an area, Vanna said.

Vanna was appointed to the district in July. “It’s been really amazing,” Vanna said of the welcome he’s received. “I’m very happy to be here … a lot of high energy.”

The size of the district is unusual compared to others in the city, Vanna said. “It’s 200,000 people spread out over 26 square miles,” he said. “It’s a big district with a bunch of different neighborhoods.”

Vanna, who grew up on the South Side but now lives on the Northwest Side, has served 33 years on the Chicago police force.

“I’m from a police family. My dad served 34 years,” Vanna said. “My entire existence has been police.”

He previously was commander of the 24th (Rogers Park) District and had worked in numerous departments, including the superintendent’s office, Bureau of Patrol and Internal Affairs, and served as a detective.

Vanna said that lengthy police careers like his will likely become a thing of the past and that the department will continue to focus on efficiency improvements — due newer technologies — that will help the overall operations of the department. He also noted that the Chicago Police Department uses civilians for about 6 percent of its workforce compared to about 25 to 30 percent in cities like Los Angeles and New York.

About 20 years ago the 16th District had about 270 officers but in more recent years the numbers have ranged from about 190 to 240.

One of the priorities is to make sure all beat cars are staffed each shift, and watch commanders have been doing a good job allocating resources, Vanna said.

Policing continues to evolve, with a much stronger reliance on video evidence than before, Vanna said. “That’s just the world we live in.”

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