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PLAINFIELD, Ill. - Police announced Wednesday they seized 650 rolls of toilet paper intended for Homecoming pranks in Chicago's southwest suburbs.
Plainfield Homecoming pranks thwarted
The Plainfield Police Department said officers intercepted the toilet paper leading up to Homecoming this weekend and decided to make the situation "very clear."
"Homecoming is not a free pass to damage someone else's property or disrupt their quality of life," the department said in a Facebook post.
A photo shared by the department labels the effort "Operation Clean Sweep" and declares: "Major two-ply trafficking ring disrupted."
Police said the rolls were intended for activities that had already gone beyond harmless pranks.
The backstory:
According to the department, officers received double-digit calls for service on Monday and Tuesday related to juvenile complaints between 7:15 p.m. and 9:15 p.m.
Residents reported homes and vehicles being targeted with toilet paper, eggs, ketchup, laundry detergent pods and other items. Police said as many as 20 to 25 people "wearing hoodies & ski masks [would] ‘pull up’ (as the kids say) simultaneously in multiple vehicles and cause chaos."
The department also noted that officers had been handling other calls, including a structure fire, a mental health crisis, a DUI arrest, intoxicated subjects and violations of protective orders.
"Before the ‘don’t you have anything better to do’ comments start rolling in…. In short, we DO have better things to do," police wrote. "So PLEASE, be respectful of your community and let us!"
What they're saying:
The department said Homecoming traditions can help students have fun and make memories, but damaging someone else’s property is not part of that tradition.
"What may seem like a harmless prank to you can leave someone else with a damaged home, a significant mess, or a costly cleanup," police said.
The department’s closing message was simple: "Have fun. Make memories. BUT DO IT WITH RESPECT."
And, for the record: "650 rolls. We counted."
According to police, the estimated street value was $1,708.66.
The Source: The information in this story came from the Plainfield Police Department.