Chicago's murder rate soars 72% in 2016

[Robby999 1,024]

CHICAGO — Murders in the nation's third-largest city are up about 72%, while shootings have surged more than 88% in the first three months of 2016 compared with the same period last year, according to data released Friday by the Chicago Police Department.

Police said the disturbing rise in violence is driven by gangs and mostly contained to a handful of pockets on the city's South and West sides.

“While CPD will remain tireless in its efforts to hold criminals accountable for their actions, we all have a part to play in creating a safer Chicago,” newly appointed interim Superintendent Eddie Johnson said in a statement. “In the coming weeks and months, I plan on meeting with and listening to a range of Chicagoans — from activists and elected officials to ministers and parents — to find ways that we can come together to build mutual trust and lasting partnerships that will make our streets safer for everyone.”

The city has seen 141 homicides this year, compared with 82 homicides at the same point last year. Police reported 677 shootings this year compared with 359 at the same point last year.

The grim rise in violence comes after the Chicago Police Department reported 468 murders in 2015, a 12.5% increase from the year before. There were 2,900 shootings in 2015, 13% more than the year before, according to Police Department records.

The rise in violence comes as the police department reported a decrease in investigative stops by cops on the streets during the first two months of the year. The police department entered an agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union, which went into effect Jan. 1, to record contact cards for all street stops after the organization criticized the city's police for disproportionately targeting minorities for questioning and searches.

Police complained that the new forms were too time-consuming to fill out. Officers were allowed to begin using more simplified forms at the beginning of March. The department said gun arrests have increased significantly since the new forms were put in place.

Police noted that there has been some progress in slowing the pace of the rising violence.

In March, murders rose by 29% compared with increases of 75% in January and 126% in February.

Overall, the month of March saw 45 murders and 271 shooting incidents.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed Johnson as his new interim superintendent this week and hopes he can help stem the violence.

Johnson replaced John Escalante, who took over the department in December after Emanuel fired Superintendent Garry McCarthy. McCarthy was ousted in the aftermath of the court-ordered release of dashcam video that showed a white police officer fatally shooting a black teen 16 times on a city street. The video of Laquan McDonald's death spurred weeks of protests in the city.

Johnson has had success fighting crime, the mayor's office says. As deputy chief of patrol in a huge swath of the city's South Side in 2013, Johnson's area of command saw a 32% drop in crime, according to the mayor's office.

"We have a challenge right now, specifically but not limited to the South and West Sides," Emanuel said this week. "We have a level of shootings and gun violence that's unacceptable and must come to an end. It means we have to have a leadership and lead from the front and get not only our officers' morale level up but our violence level down."

http://www.13wmaz.com/news/nation-now/murders-shootings-soar-in-chicago-through-first-three-months-of-2016/114492050

[Janelle2002 3,865]

CHICAGO Murders in the nation's third-largest city are up about 72%, while shootings have surged more than 88% in the first three months of 2016 compared with the same period last year, according to data released Friday by the Chicago Police Department.

Police said the disturbing rise in violence is driven by gangs and mostly contained to a handful of pockets on the city's South and West sides.

While CPD will remain tireless in its efforts to hold criminals accountable for their actions, we all have a part to play in creating a safer Chicago, newly appointed interim Superintendent Eddie Johnson said in a statement. In the coming weeks and months, I plan on meeting with and listening to a range of Chicagoans from activists and elected officials to ministers and parents to find ways that we can come together to build mutual trust and lasting partnerships that will make our streets safer for everyone.

The city has seen 141 homicides this year, compared with 82 homicides at the same point last year. Police reported 677 shootings this year compared with 359 at the same point last year.

The grim rise in violence comes after the Chicago Police Department reported 468 murders in 2015, a 12.5% increase from the year before. There were 2,900 shootings in 2015, 13% more than the year before, according to Police Department records.

The rise in violence comes as the police department reported a decrease in investigative stops by cops on the streets during the first two months of the year. The police department entered an agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union, which went into effect Jan. 1, to record contact cards for all street stops after the organization criticized the city's police for disproportionately targeting minorities for questioning and searches.

Police complained that the new forms were too time-consuming to fill out. Officers were allowed to begin using more simplified forms at the beginning of March. The department said gun arrests have increased significantly since the new forms were put in place.

Police noted that there has been some progress in slowing the pace of the rising violence.

In March, murders rose by 29% compared with increases of 75% in January and 126% in February.

Overall, the month of March saw 45 murders and 271 shooting incidents.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed Johnson as his new interim superintendent this week and hopes he can help stem the violence.

Johnson replaced John Escalante, who took over the department in December after Emanuel fired Superintendent Garry McCarthy. McCarthy was ousted in the aftermath of the court-ordered release of dashcam video that showed a white police officer fatally shooting a black teen 16 times on a city street. The video of Laquan McDonald's death spurred weeks of protests in the city.

Johnson has had success fighting crime, the mayor's office says. As deputy chief of patrol in a huge swath of the city's South Side in 2013, Johnson's area of command saw a 32% drop in crime, according to the mayor's office.

"We have a challenge right now, specifically but not limited to the South and West Sides," Emanuel said this week. "We have a level of shootings and gun violence that's unacceptable and must come to an end. It means we have to have a leadership and lead from the front and get not only our officers' morale level up but our violence level down."

http://www.13wmaz.com/news/nation-now/murders-shootings-soar-in-chicago-through-first-three-months-of-2016/114492050

What's your suggestion? Ban guns?

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

On the bright side it looks like it will be the lowest level of police involved shootings in recent years if the trend continues... The downside being the overall number of people dead will double. At least its the right people doing the killing.. So! Some stats from a terrible page for Chicago 2016 so far:

Pretty much all guns:

Racial stats somewhat useless since we don''t know it as a percentage of population:

And the big shocker: 85+% of the Chicago murders in 2016 so far unsolved

And people so far shot in the sweet spot...

Edited April 1, 2016 by OnMyWayID

[Boiler 46,246]

plus ça change

To be fair it is not Chicago, seemingly just a small area.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

The spread:

[ExPatty 502]

What's your suggestion? Ban guns?

My suggestion for those who have the means to do, move. Most of the people involved in this stuff are born into useless families (normally not even a family) and have nobody to show them any decent guidance, so by the time they are a teenager it is petty crime then turns into major and then prison. Short of shipping teach kid born in the inner city into a decent family somewhere else on the planet the cycle continues gen after gen. Nothing will fix this, hence why people with money just move and let them kill each other.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

My suggestion for those who have the means to do, move. Most of the people involved in this stuff are born into useless families (normally not even a family) and have nobody to show them any decent guidance, so by the time they are a teenager it is petty crime then turns into major and then prison. Short of shipping teach kid born in the inner city into a decent family somewhere else on the planet the cycle continues gen after gen. Nothing will fix this, hence why people with money just move and let them kill each other.

That's part of the problem. Instead of trying to fix it, we leave and let others pay the price for it.

The way you fix it is get to the root of the problem, which is acknowledging that there is no quick fix for an epidemic of this magnitude. It took decades, even longer than that for these cities to become so destitute and violent, you can't expect it to go away in one swoop. Education, jobs, police that actually give a damn. These things would be beneficial, but the core starts at home. If folks saw that others cared, maybe they'd start to care as well. But you can't inspire hope in a city where the people who are sworn to protect you can't stand you and are killing you as much as the criminals. Where going to school is as dangerous as being deployed in an overseas location at war.

[Boiler 46,246]

That's part of the problem. Instead of trying to fix it, we leave and let others pay the price for it.

The way you fix it is get to the root of the problem, which is acknowledging that there is no quick fix for an epidemic of this magnitude. It took decades, even longer than that for these cities to become so destitute and violent, you can't expect it to go away in one swoop. Education, jobs, police that actually give a damn. These things would be beneficial, but the core starts at home. If folks saw that others cared, maybe they'd start to care as well. But you can't inspire hope in a city where the people who are sworn to protect you can't stand you and are killing you as much as the criminals. Where going to school is as dangerous as being deployed in an overseas location at war.

Decades of political leadership sic, but they still vote the same people in.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Decades of political leadership sic, but they still vote the same people in.

Show me where the GOP has made an attempt to help out. I'll wait.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Decades of political leadership sic, but they still vote the same people in.

What's ur suggestion?

[Boiler 46,246]

No solution not whilst it suits the powers that be.

Show me where the GOP has made an attempt to help out. I'll wait.

Why would I have clue?

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

No solution not whilst it suits the powers that be.

Why would I have clue?

Because you said folks voted for the same leaders for years. Since you know that, you must know that they did so in the midst of all those GOP members telling them to vote for Republicans. Since Chicago is mostly Democratic.

[Boiler 46,246]

Its not one or the other.

[Webdevman 93]

Some stricter gun laws would help after awhile but nationwide laws. Local gun laws do practically nothing. In a city like that pretty much anyone can buy a gun for a couple hundred bucks right off the street.

And yes, address the root issues, maybe better education in those areas and more help with finding employment, etc.

Edited April 2, 2016 by Webdevman

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Its not one or the other.

So how do they vote for their demise when both sides are crooked?

Some stricter gun laws would help after awhile but nationwide laws. Local gun laws do practically nothing. In a city like that pretty much anyone can buy a gun for a couple hundred bucks right off the street.

And yes, address the root issues, maybe better education in those areas and more help with finding employment, etc.

Gun laws are the problem in those areas. Everyone knows that gun control was designed for those neighborhoods. By disarming the citizens and letting the criminal element run rampart, folks are sitting ducks. They need to allow people to defend themselves since the cops don't care. It's by design that the most violent cities have the most strict gun control laws on the books.