Parole Compliance Checks Conducted in East St. Louis and Washington Park, Illinois

Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that as an initative of the WAVE Task Force, a Parole Compliance Check was conducted in the metro east on September 29, 2010, and a second compliance check was conducted on September 30, 2010. The compliance check targets parolees to ensure they are complying with the guidelines of their supervised release.

The activity conducted on September 29, 2010, utilized the State Park Fire Department in Collinsville, Illinois, as a base of operations. This particular check targeted 59 parolees living in the East St. Louis and Washington Park, Illinois, communities. Of those, 26 were transported to the command post where they were drug tested. Seven tested positive for illegal drug use; in addition, eight Illinois Department of Corrections warrants were issued for pending criminal charges and/or failure to comply with guidelines. While conducting the compliance check, officers made two additional arrests on outstanding St. Clair County warrants.

The WAVE (Working Against Violent Elements) Task Force focuses its efforts on combating violent crime in East St. Louis, Washington Park, and surrounding communities. WAVE was formed in November 2009 and is a collaboration of the United States Attorney’s Office and the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office with law enforcement officers from the Illinois State Police, the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern Illinois (MEGSI), the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, the East St. Louis Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the United States Marshals Service. The WAVE Task Force receives financial support through the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative, a nationwide federal program which endeavors to address gun-related violence.

According to U.S. Attorney Wigginton, “Parole Compliance Check actions are important to the community and law enforcement. As a result of successful law enforcement policies, the numbers of convicted criminals continues to grow, as does the number of prisoners and parolees. We must insist that parolees comply with all of the terms and conditions of their parole. This protects the community and aids the parolee in his return to a law-abiding citizen.

“Our office will vigorously pursue any violators. I am proud of the members of the WAVE Task Force and applaud their success in this action.”

Participating in this effort were the Illinois Department of Corrections, the U.S. Marshals Service, Illinois State Police (ISP), the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern Illinois (MEGSI), the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department, and the FBI and ATF.

The second compliance check was also part of the East St. Louis Violent Crime Initiative and was conducted by the St. Clair County Probation Office and the U.S. Marshals Service. This check targeted 48 probationers who are currently on Intensive Probation Supervision. As a result, 12 warrants were issued and two of these warrants were served. St. Clair County Probation stated they are aggressively enhancing their efforts to locate the remaining 10 offenders who are currently on warrant status.