Leader named for new Madison County crime task force
A commander has been named for a Madison County task force working to curb crime that officials say is coming to the county due to a “crime wave” in St. Louis.
Madison County Chief Deputy Sheriff Jeff Connor was named the commander of the Cross-River Crime Task Force after being nominated by county State’s Attorney Tom Haine and Sheriff John Lakin.
“I’m proud to have been chosen as commander for this important new law enforcement effort,“ Connor said in a statement. “I’m thankful for the deputy commanders who have agreed to assist, and we look forward to getting to work combating the flow of violent crime into and throughout Madison County.”
In addition, Granite City Police Department Major Nick Novacich and Alton Deputy Police Chief Jarrett Ford were named deputy commanders of the task force by Connor.
Connor and his deputy commanders were unanimously approved by members of the task force.
The task force
The task force was launched in April in response to what Haine recently described as a “crime wave” that’s taking place in St. Louis and bleeding over into Madison County. Haine listed five different cases where St. Louis or Missouri residents committed crimes in Madison County.
“It’s a tragedy that St. Louis — that is a wonderful, wonderful city — is undergoing a historic crime wave. And Madison County is doing whatever it can to make sure criminals do not cause problems in Madison County,” Haine said during a news conference on the task force.
Haine said that in December, two St. Louis residents committed an armed robbery at a Glen Carbon Walmart. The next month, SIUE student Moneer Damra was killed in a shooting involving two St. Louis residents near Interstate 270. And in February, a St. Louis man was charged with the shooting of an Alton resident.
It was also announced patrols are expected to begin within the month, using license plate readers to identify individuals with outstanding warrants or vehicles that are believed to have been involved in criminal activity.
The patrols will be voluntary and will take place monthly with the commander choosing a time and place for patrols.