We know that getting your personal belongings taken is not how you wanted your night to end.  We sympathize and share your frustration.  The organized phone theft rings currently targeting large crowds in Chicago, and in many other cities around the country and the world, are adept at distracting groups and nabbing personal belongings. 

To help remind people to keep their phones and wallets secured we remind people in line, we have informational signs posted through out the bar and have many monitors displaying warnings.  Unfortunately, these thieves are cunning and continue to target valuables when people are in crowded bars, festivals and concerts.

 

The Chicago Police Department have provided us with this guidance for Customers that experience property theft:

The link for online case reporting is here: https://home.chicagopolice.org/services/online-crime-reporting/

The correct incident type will normally be “Theft – Pickpocketing” or “Theft – Over $500/Under $500” (choose appropriate option corresponding to actual value of phone).

Please note that there are two circumstances in which online case reporting should not be used:

  • In an emergency. (Call 911).
  • If the victim knows who committed the crime. (Call 311).

We know that the sad reality is that in many cases the phone will not be recovered. Here are suggestions from the Police as to how to move forward once your phone has been taken.

  • Attempt to call the phone at regular intervals. Sometimes a phone is simply lost and a passerby will hear it ringing and answer.
  • Sign into Find My Device (https://www.google.com/android/find) or Find My iPhone (https://www.icloud.com/find) from another device and track your phone’s GPS location. You should never attempt to confront an offender, but in some cases they will ditch the phone somewhere and you may be able to recover it using the location, if it was not switched off.
  • Check with the district police station to inquire whether a phone was turned in.
  • ALWAYS make a police report — sometimes an offender will be arrested in a separate incident at a later time and stolen property will be recovered from them. Having a report on file can help locate the rightful owner.
  • Report the theft to your wireless carrier. They can assist with blocking the device, and may offer some level of coverage for a replacement phone.