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The number of homicides in Chicago is on the rise, with reports such as this recent New York Times story, showing killings up 38 percent from last year mostly attributed to more gang activity on the South and West Sides.
According to New York Times reporter Monica Davey, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy are looking for ways to combat homicides, which in many large cities, including New York and Los Angeles, are declining.
Some of Chicago’s crime-fighting strategies have been in the news.
In this recent Sun-Times story, a change in the way police respond to 911 calls was reported after Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) asked McCarthy at the Chicago City Council’s Committee on Public Safety when the current system would be changed. The new system, which McCarthy said is in the works, will reduce police response to non-emergency 911 calls, allowing officers more time to focus on serious crimes.
Another method to tackle crime reported yesterday in this Chicago Tribune story is the city’s funding of CeaseFire to hire an additional 40 crime “interrupters.” The new recruits will patrol the streets in the Grand Crossing district on the South Side and the Ogden district on the West Side, a little more than a mile southeast of Austin.