Will County Public Health & Safety Committee Meeting October 2, 2025

Article Summary: The Will County Sheriff’s Office reported a nearly 10% overall drop in crime compared to the same period last year, though proactive enforcement has led to a 700% increase in child pornography cases. An official told a county committee that the biggest challenge in implementing the state’s Safety Act has been the “monumental task” of redacting body camera footage for public records requests.

Sheriff’s Department Report Key Points:

• Crime against persons is down 9.85% and crime against property is down 9.33% year-over-year.

• “Crimes against society,” including drug and weapons offenses, are up, largely due to a 700% increase in child pornography investigations (from 8 cases to 71).

• The primary operational challenge of the Safety Act is redacting body camera footage for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

The Will County Sheriff’s Office has seen a nearly 10% reduction in overall crime this year, a county official reported on Thursday, October 2, 2025, while also highlighting the logistical burdens of the state’s Safety Act.

During a presentation to the Public Health & Safety Committee, Deputy Chief Dan Jungles provided crime statistics from January 1 to September 24. “The overall crime rate from this year to last year, same reporting time, is down about 10%,” Jungles said. He broke down the numbers, stating that crimes against persons fell by 9.85% and crimes against property decreased by 9.33%.

Conversely, Jungles noted an increase in “crimes against society,” which he explained is generally a positive indicator of proactive police work. These offenses include drug possession, weapons violations, and child pornography. The rise this year was driven by a dramatic increase in child pornography investigations, which surged by over 700%.

“Last year we had during the same reporting time period we had eight cases of child pornography cases. This year we have 71,” Jungles said.

When asked by committee members about the impact of the Safety Act, Jungles said the biggest challenge has been managing body camera footage. “The biggest barrier for us is dealing with the body cam issues,” he stated, citing the volume of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. “The amount of work that we do on a daily basis to redact those videos… is a pretty monumental task because you have to go frame by frame of each video.”

However, Jungles also pointed to a significant benefit of the act: a reduced jail population. He explained that since low-level, non-violent offenders are no longer held pre-trial, the jail count has dropped from over 800 to around 475-500 inmates. This allows the facility to focus on housing violent offenders and has resulted in lower overtime costs.

Jungles concluded that law enforcement adapts to legal changes, as it has for decades with precedents like Miranda rights and mandatory interview recordings. “You have to evolve with the changes,” he said. “If the law is on the books, that’s what we have to adhere to.”