Latest state police crackdown in metro-east nets 27 arrests in ‘high crime areas’

About 35 Illinois State Police officers from around the state made 27 arrests in the East St. Louis area on Monday and Tuesday in an operation targeting “known high crime areas,” the agency said Thursday.

This is at least the 11th such crackdown in the area since June 2023.

With the arrests this week, the total number of arrests stands at 402, according to the Belleville News-Democrat’s review of state police announcements.

In the latest operation, which was described by Illinois State Police as a “violent crime suppression detail,” the 27 arrests yielded 33 felony charges and 16 guns were seized. Also, one stolen vehicle was recovered.

“The operation utilized intelligence and technology to target known high crime areas, violent offenders, and structured criminal groups in the communities” of the metro-east, a news release stated.

On Monday during a traffic stop, officers seized a loaded firearm that was previously reported stolen. One person was arrested.

In one case on Tuesday, officers conducted a traffic stop for a motor vehicle code violation and they found two loaded firearms and an additional loaded firearm magazine. The driver and passenger were arrested.

Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly, the former state’s attorney for St. Clair County, told the BND in March that the agency was trying to focus on areas “where the data indicates police activity is needed and welcome.”

“We make our strategic and tactical decisions based upon evidence, based upon facts,” Kelly said.