Elgin saw a 63% decrease in 2025 in the number of cases involving gunshots and an 8% drop in violent crimes, Police Chief Ana Lalley said.

Elgin Police Department numbers show the city had “one of the lowest crime levels recorded in decades, specifically in gunfire incidents,” Lalley said.

In the biggest drop, there were just 24 incidents involving shots fired in 2025 compared to 65 in 2024, according to the statistics.

Gunfire cases started climbing in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when there were 63 reported, police crime analyst Ryan Drake said. “It was elevated throughout that time until last year,” he said.

Drake said there are “a lot of things that go into why people commit crimes. It’s important to remember this is a multifaceted problem.”

The police department has concentrated on reducing the number of incidents through its Violent Crime Unit, establishing a special detail to focus on such cases, working with law enforcement partners and using new investigative techniques, Lalley said.

It also involved some “very good police work,” the chief said. “We have some very talented police officers who work very hard and are very tenacious.”

“I always say this every year: we want to start with zero and end with zero,” she said. “A community should never accept any type of gun violence. There are things we are absolutely able to influence and there are things we can’t influence.”

Overall, violent crimes decreased by 8% from 2024, according to statistics. Drake said there were 4,348 offenses in 2025 and 4,744 in 2024.

“Long term, it continues the 30-plus-year downward trend,” he said.

Robberies, in particular, decreased significantly. Last year, there were 22 compared to 34 in 2024, Drake said. And over the last five years, the number of robberies hase declined 42%, he said. In 2021, 38 robberies were reported.

Another positive in the report is there was just one murder in 2025 whereas there had been eight the year before, data shows. There also were 159 aggravated assaults last year, down from 189 in 2024.

As part of the news briefing on the annual report, Lalley also addressed the police department’s policy on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement civil immigration detentions. A Dec. 6 incident in Elgin in which federal agents were involved in a standoff with a man resulted in Elgin residents being pepper-sprayed.

The department has been criticized for its response to the incident.

“I want the community to know we recognize what’s going on and we are working hard to try to do the best we can with what’s in front of us,” Lalley said. “That’s not to say we are not looking for new strategies.”

Additional information on the department’s policies in relation to ICE and immigrants was added to its Transparency Hub last week, including a framework they use when responding to ICE-related calls, she said.

Each case is a “very fluid situation with different circumstances. It’s a complex issue,” Lalley said. There’s not a single policy that fits every case, she said.

But, “we will always find a way to work with the community and put our best effort forward with sincerity and with kindness,” Lalley said.

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/20/elgin-crime-gunfire-statistics-down-lalley/