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Community Alert ~~ Child Safety Alert The Valparaiso Police are investigating three separate incidents when a white male subject attempted to approach or lure a teenager to his vehicle. The first incident occurred on February 23rd, when a male subject driving a black truck followed two 10 yrs old girls in the area of Glendale and Dainesway near Valplayso. This incident occurred at 5:05 p.m. A second incident occurred on March 3rd, when a male subject driving a small brown truck attempted to lure a 13 yr old boy to his vehicle. This occurred at the intersection of Napoleon/Evans Ave. This incident occurred at 3:20 p.m. A third incident occurred yesterday afternoon, March 9th, when a male subject driving a white pick-up truck with a cap on the bed followed a 12 yr old girl walking in the area of Chestnut/Campbell St. The male subject exited his vehicle and followed the young girl until she ran from the area. The male subject was described a 5’7”-5’8” with a thin build. Any suspicious activities similar to these incidents should be reported to police immediately. Parents should remind children to never approach a vehicle or stranger in any circumstances. Extra patrols will be conducted in and around school zones by police. Citizens’ Police Academy Information Applications Being Accepted for the Citizens Police Academy The Valparaiso Police Department is searching for community members that would like to learn more about the police department. The department’s annual Citizens’ Police Academy is currently accepting applications. The Citizens’ Police Academy is designed for community members to meet officers, learn what officers do on a daily basis and become involved in their community. Topics featured in the academy include; investigations, Indiana law, daily traffic laws and enforcement, crash investigations and patrol division duties including many specialties within the patrol unit such as, K-9 presentations, bicycle team, taser usage and firearms scenarios. The academy class will meet on every Tuesday, beginning on April 13th and will meet for 10 weeks. Classes start at 6:30pm each day. Applications for the academy are available at the Valparaiso Police Department located at 355 S Washington St or click here. Applications must be returned to the department by Wednesday March 31st. Suspect Linked to Numerous Bank Robberies Yesterday afternoon, (3/4/10), the Centier Bank located at 2707 LaPorte Ave was robbed. Shortly after the robbery police received information, from a witness, that a silver four door vehicle with red smoke coming from inside the vehicle was stopped at the Speedway Station located at Morthland Ave/Sturdy Rd. The witness informed police that he had followed the vehicle from the bank on LaPorte Ave. The witness immediately became suspicious when he observed red smoke coming from the inside of the vehicle as it exited the bank parking lot. Police later learned the red smoke was from a dye pack inside the money that discharged when the subject exited the bank. Police arrived at the Speedway Station and located the vehicle and identified Joseph Campbell 35 yrs old, from Elkhart Indiana as the driver. The description of the bank robber matched the description of Campbell. Through interviews with police, Campbell admitted to robbing the bank. He further admitted to robbing eleven other banks in Northern Indiana and Michigan. Campbell confirmed robbing banks in Warsaw, Plymouth, Hebron, Rensselaer and Chesterton. Campbell is being held at the Porter County Jail pending federal charges for bank robbery. Police and the FBI continue to investigate this case. Centier Bank Robbed Person of Interest Located The Valparaiso Police Department is investigating a bank robbery that occurred this afternoon, (1:12 p.m.) at 2707 LaPorte Ave, Centier Bank. Police arrived at the bank and learned that a male white subject had entered the bank and demanded U.S. currency from a bank teller. The male subject was described as 5'8"-5'10" wearing blue jeans, a black leather jacket, gloves and a black stocking cap. Some facial hair was visible to witnesses. The male subject fled the bank and was observed entering a silver four door vehicle. A person of interest was located at the intersection of Sturdy Rd. and Morthland Dr. The person of interest is currently in police custody. An undisclosed amount of U.S. currency was taken from the bank. No injuries were reported. Valparaiso 2009 Crime Statistics Summary The Valparaiso Police Department has completed the major crime statistics for 2009. A comparison from the previous year is also been provided. Overall major crime decreased by nearly 10% and calls for service increased by 5% in 2009.
A total of 1653 traffic crashes were reported in 2009, (down 142 from 2008). The intersection of LaPorte Ave/State Rd 49 had the most crashes recorded with 26 crashes. In 2009 there was 1 fatal crash (down 1 from 2008). A total of 9123 traffic stops were conducted in 2009 with 28% of them resulting in citations being issued.
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