Posted on 05/30/2012 6:35:02 PM PDT by SJackson
With NATO summit over, city’s crime back on front-burner
If Chicago were a war zone, it would be a deadlier one for Americans than Afghanistan.
In fact, according to the Department of Defense and FBI data, the number of Chicagoans murdered is two and a half times U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan since 2001.
With NATO in the rear-view mirror, area law enforcement officials and politicians will turn their attention away from unruly protestors back to the city's rising murder rate - up 54 percent from last year, according to police data.
Last week, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a new strategy to combat gang activity in crime hot spots to halt the killing. The strategy, called a "wraparound plan," focuses on improving neighborhood services after police descend on an area to target and remove gangs.
"Once we make arrests, and we eliminate a narcotics organization, we are committed to holding onto that turf, to that territory, to squeeze out the drug market and the violence," said Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy last week.
Homicides in Chicago have spiked this year, though overall crime is down. Chicago has had 169 murders in 2012, compared to 110 at the same date last year. Overall, the city's crime rate is down 11 percent from last year.
According to FBI and Department of Defense data, 5,056 people have been murdered in Chicago since 2001, compared with 1,976 total U.S. deaths in Afghanistan since 2001. Chicago's murder rate even outpaces total NATO coalition fatalities in Afghanistan since 2001 by a difference of more than 2,500 killed.
The proposed wraparound plan is part of McCarthy's broader strategy to use data to concentrate police resources in troubled parts of the city, a strategy that reduced overall crime rates in New York by 80 percent in the 1990s.
One of the programs developed in New York in the 1990s was a data-mapping system used to identify crime hot-spots. McCarthy brought the system, called CompStat, to Chicago last year; it helps police identify neighborhoods in which crime is likely to occur by tracking crime report trends.
"Smart policing is about using resources and information to prevent violence," said Andrew Papachristos, a Harvard sociologist who studies street gangs, violent crime and gun violence. "It's not about going out and arresting people, it's about cooling people down."
According to the Chicago Crime Lab, a research program at the University of Chicago, New York's turnaround in the 1990s was accomplished without mass incarcerations.
Incarceration rates actually decreased by 28 percent in New York, while the national incarceration rate increased by 65 percent during the same period.
Controversial strategies used in New York, such as the aggressive "stop and frisk" program, have not been adopted in Chicago. Explanations for the surge in Chicago murders range from the unseasonably warm winter to a police personnel shortage due to budget cuts. According to City Hall, the police department is short nearly 2,300 officers.
Papachristos, however, argues that despite Chicago's need for more cops, a good policing strategy can still reduce crime.
"Smart policing is better than more policing," he said. "It's not about how many people you have on the street, but having the right people on the street - one good cop is better than three average cops."
We should just withdraw.
Article states, “Homicides have spiked while overall crime rate is down.” Maybe that is the direct result of thugs killing thugs. Let’s face it, you kill off a dozen thugs, how many crimes will they NOT commit? Personally, I see a direct correlation. Sadly, innocents are also getting caught in the net.
if W was prez, the networks would show a body-count ticker.
This is a little misleading, suggesting that Afghanistan is safer than Chicago. While there are more murders in Chicago, there are also a lot more Americans there than in Afghanistan.
Hey Rahm, you havin’ fun yet? Do you care? Don’t hear much from you anymore. Shirley you can conjure up some vulgar, smart alecky remark about all the killing in YOUR city.
Oh look, they’ve hired a Harvard sociologist. That means things will get worse quickly.
Chicago’s murder rate is significantly higher under the new top cop than under the previous one.
Think it’s bad now check the number this coming Nov. 7.
Just think if they hadn’t of had the Community Organizer working there with the Catholic Charities.....uhmnn...thinking about it with critical acclaim, maybe the people would have taken matters into their hands and DONE something about it without so much enabling going on and blaming the problems on someone else.
Because that's what Rahm wants.
Occam's Razor.
The Messiah needs to spend much more time in Chicago, preferably wearing a jacket with chain store logos on it.
“Of course a few Afghans are killed in Afghanistan. Still, an instructive statistic. The good thing, no handguns for lawabiding citizens on the streets of Chicago.”
Yes, just imagine how bad it would be if the citizens of Chicago were permitted to own guns! Oh, wait...
How are those Gun laws working for Chicago ?
Wow, Chicago, huh?
Good thing firearms are illegal!
Actually, I’m surprised that it is that low. Consider ... only the police and police auxiliary (organized crime) are allowed to have guns in Chicago. For each, Chicago is an extremely target rich environment. Don’t pay your protection money to the police auxiliary ... boom, you’re dead. Don’t pay protection money to the police .... boom, you’re dead.
“Once we make arrests, and we eliminate a narcotics organization, we are committed to holding onto that turf, to that territory, to squeeze out the drug market and the violence,” said Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy last week.”
Now how the funk are they going to do that??
Establish “firebases” and LZ’s like we did in Vietnam? Go out on incursion patrols, and drop napalm on areas that need pacification???
Sounds like a PLAN! NOT!!!
It is misleading because the majority of aggravated assaults battery and murders
in Chicago occur in neighborhoods that comprise a population of about 600,000 people. So the actual battlefront casualty percentage in Chicago is much greater if you target certain areas.
The numbers of violent crimes has increased from 40 per 100,000 1959 to 400
per 100,000 in 2011.
The numbers of reported “shots fired” over any weekend is so great that
the CPD can’t keep count of those calls.
Last but not least chicago is a sanctuary city so all of the illegal criminals from latin America have free reign.
I doubt that Rahm or Quinn will propose anything meaningful to combat gang crime. Nothing has been done in the past except to hold “gang Summits” pleading with and appeasing gang leaders to be nice. we have an understaffed overworked police department which will be losing some of their benefits if Rahm has his way.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.