Bloomington saw a slight increase in crime in 2025, but the official numbers still tell a story of some improvement, according to Police Chief Jamal Simington.
Simington, in an interview on WGLT's Sound Ideas, said gun-related crimes decreased from 2024, noting "... our shootings were down 46% from the previous year. That is worth celebrating. And then we continue to seize a number of illegal guns from those that should not possess them in our community.”
According to BPD data, there were 20 shootings last year, down from 37 in 2024.
Bloomington reported five gun-related deaths, excluding suicides, in 2025 [three of them in one incident], while there were none in 2023 and 2024. The department does not track deaths by suicide.
Three others were wounded by gun violence in the city last year. The city reports there were four people shot in 2024 and nine shooting victims in 2023.
Last year, Bloomington Police took 66 illegal guns off the street [compared to 71 in 2024], and when any tip comes in on firearms, Simington said it is taken seriously.
“We act on those immediately,” he said. “If we receive a tip from the community of someone possessing an illegal gun, we’re going to act on it.
“When we get information like that, that becomes priority number one, because we want to prevent that next gun incident. ... Officers and investigators have done very well in doing that, and [we're] very proud of their efforts there.”
There were 123 reports of burglaries in Bloomington last year, after 175 were reported in 2024.
“Burglaries are down 30% which those are always concerning when someone’s home is violated, and so it’s great that we were able to tamp that statistic down as well,” said Simington. “And then vehicle thefts were down 26% overall [down from 95 to 70], those were good.”
Youth gun violence
WGLT previously reported an uptick in gun-related crimes involving youth and young adults.
Simington said BPD continues to work around the community on early intervention to curb youth gun violence.
“The more of our youth are involved in productive things in a community, volunteering, sports groups, interacting with those organizations, that keeps them busy and away from that element,” he said. “The gun possessions are still younger ... we do find that those are 22, 23 or less into the teen years are still carrying guns and that continues to be problematic for us.”
The department did not have juvenile data for 2025.
Uptick in drug crimes
The increase in crime in 2025 came largely from drug-related cases that increased nearly four-fold — from 86 offenses in both 2023 and 2024 to 347 cases last year.
Simington said that means BPD officers are encountering and handling more illegal drugs to get them out of the community, adding a proactive policing approach leads to more intervention during traffic stops or other calls for service.
“The officers are getting ample training in how to look beyond a stop and our tip line has been paying dividends as well providing information to us about those who are either possessing drugs or dealings drugs,” he said. “We have a cooperative agreement with the Illinois State Police and the task force there are furthering drug investigations.”
Simington said BPD will continue its efforts in a proactive approach to policing and intervening in crimes around the community. In order to do so, the department has received a grant to update technology at the real-time information and crime center, housed at the agency.
U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, a Republican who represents parts of Bloomington-Normal, helped secure the $556,000 in grant funding for the city’s live crime mapping resource.
“The folks in that center are well trained; they’re focused on the mission of keeping our community safe and providing vital intelligence and information to our officers that will help us enhance it even more,” said Simington. “…Whether that’s tracking down someone who had allegedly used the gun or are possessing a gun, or even our retail theft groups that are coming into town preying on our retailers to those that are involved in violent crimes and are moving about the community.”
The center uses cameras around Bloomington, but also utilizes license plate readers and video sent in by residents.
“It even helps us with a lot of hit and run and crashes throughout the community, where we can use the technology that’s available,” he said, “...whether it’s artificial intelligence or other technologies that are helping us make definitive investigative decisions to solve crimes, and so the more of that technology we’re able to add to the center, the more it’ll amplify our capabilities and solve crimes quicker.”
Simington said the cameras have led to results in apprehending offenders. Last month, BPD reported the use of the technology to recover a stolen truck.
However, civil liberties advocates have raised concerns about increased exposure via the use of technology, like the license plate readers.
Last year, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said a camera company of some automatic license plate reading cameras was shared with federal immigration agencies.
The McLean County Sheriff's Office admitted last year to inadvertently sharing license plate data with federal immigration authorities. The department has since tightened access.
Simington said BPD has historically been transparent with their use of the technology. Right now, there are about 30 cameras in use in Bloomington aside from license plate readers.
“When you see a camera pop up in a neighborhood, let’s say it’s our trailer camera, it’s there for a purpose,” he said. “If we were to take a trailer camera into a neighborhood, we actually get out on foot, go to each of those residences and canvas and say, ‘Hey, this is why the cameras are here, it’s not capable of looking into your windows.’”
Simington said officers are held accountable. They must be able to justify to superiors why they accessed a particular camera.
Officer vacancies
Simington said BPD has 10 vacancies for sworn officers, noting the department is looking for public servants eager to protect public safety.
“We’re looking for those that can make us better, and certainly it’s a great place to work,” he said. “…The technology that we’re providing, resources to officers to do their jobs and to do them well and efficient is something I’m proud of.”
Twenty-five years ago, BPD had a heavy period of hiring. Now, those officers are retiring.
“We’ve had some who have left for other professional endeavors and we’ve had none transfer to other police departments,” he said. “So, even those who come back and visit when they leave here they say, ‘Chief, it’s amazing what [BPD] provides to its officers. Resources, wise education, training, the technology…’
“We’re on a cutting edge of all of those things, and a lot of other departments come here to figure out how we do things as good as we do.”
Currently, Bloomington has 123 sworn officers on the force.
