Crime has skyrocketed in Chicago with more than 760 murders reported over the course of 2016. Fox News reported the majority of the homicides which jumped from 2,426 in 2015 to 3,550 last year transpired in the poor and predominately Black communities on the city’s South and West sides. The shootings have continued to occur in the same five neighborhoods plagued with drugs and gang activity.
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson stated at a recent press conference that the criminals no longer fear the justice system.
“In Chicago, we just don’t have a deterrent to pick up a gun,” he said. “Any time a guy stealing a loaf of bread spends more time pre-trial in jail than a gun offender, something is wrong.”
In an effort to decrease the sudden surge, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced last year that 1K officers would be added to the police department. Emmanuel soon realized staffing extra law enforcement wasn’t solving the ongoing issue.
Witnessing viral videos uploaded across the country of fatal police shootings much like 17-year-old Laquan McDonald shot 16 times by a White police officer in Chicago were prime examples of incidents fueling the fire and sparking protests in the city’s streets. For local residents, the concern was never focused on the high amount of officers in the area, but on how they conduct themselves during an arrest.
City officials have alleged several determinants in the climbing numbers, but the shootings have not yet ceased. Over the New Year’s holiday weekend, 2017 began with a rough start. Chicago police reported, five people were killed and at least 42 victims had been wounded in several shootings not related.
2016 ended as one of the most violent years for Chicago in two decades. Superintendent Eddie Johnson says he hopes to lessen the crime rate in 2017 by “restoring public trust.”
