State troopers target metro-east ‘violent crime’ areas, arrest 24

In the 13th multi-day crackdown in the metro-east since June 2023, Illinois State Police officers arrested 24 people during a “violent crime suppression detail” last week.

With the cases from Dec. 16-19, the total number of arrests stands at 460 since June 2023, according to a Belleville News-Democrat review of state police announcements. The arrests have been made in St. Clair and Madison counties with the focus on the East St. Louis area and neighboring communities, according to Illinois State Police statements.

Nearly 38 Illinois State Police officers from around the state participated in the latest operation.

“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, Illinois State Police said in a news release Tuesday.

Along with the 24 arrests, authorities lodged 36 felony charges, seized nine guns and recovered a stolen vehicle.

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.”