Chicago sure isnât the Second City when it comes to street shootings; Dodge City is more like it.
Certainly the outburst of handgun homicides that has plagued Chicago in recent weeks puts New Yorkâs recent surge in perspective.
Thus far, Chicago has seen 275 murders in 2012 â up 38 percent over the same period last year.
Thatâs 22 percent more murders than New York has experienced this year â and keep in mind that Chicago is one-third the size of Gotham.
Direct comparisons are always tricky, of course. But when it comes to causality, itâs no secret that aggressive policing can make a huge difference.
AP
Rahm Emanuel
And Chicagoâs approach is decidedly more laid-back than New Yorkâs.
It doesnât use stop-and-frisk to counter its gang-fueled violence â but it does publicly plead with its criminals to move their crimes someplace else, so no one besides the intended victim gets hurt.
Really.
â[If] weâve got two gangbangers, one standing next to a kid, get away from that kid,â Mayor Rahm Emanuel told CBS News.
âTake your stuff away to the alley. Donât touch the children of the city of Chicago. Donât get near them.â
This is what passes for crime-fighting in the Windy City?
Well, yes. That and demolishing vacant buildings that have become gang hangouts. (Other, more structurally viable buildings are just boarded up.)
Oh, Chicago does stop people on the street. But cops usually donât frisk them in search of weapons, though theyâre authorized to do so.
Instead, the Police Department fills out âcontact cards,â which document incidents that âmay serve a useful police purpose but do not otherwise require any written reports.â
And they include a âgang information sectionâ â though thatâs only to be filled out if the police officer âdetermines that the circumstances may involve gang activity.â
All this constitutes what Emanuel calls âsending a clear message to gang members.â
Alas, it doesnât seem to be sinking in.
Again, experience shows that a strong police presence â stop-and-frisk especially â pays big dividends.
Itâs a key reason why New Yorkâ s crime levels have been so low.
And why this cityâs mayors have not been reduced to begging thugs to go commit crimes where no one can see them.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinio..._and_beg_iqx01JMxKT20iqSNqvnBiO#ixzz20MvPBaKN
Certainly the outburst of handgun homicides that has plagued Chicago in recent weeks puts New Yorkâs recent surge in perspective.
Thus far, Chicago has seen 275 murders in 2012 â up 38 percent over the same period last year.
Thatâs 22 percent more murders than New York has experienced this year â and keep in mind that Chicago is one-third the size of Gotham.
Direct comparisons are always tricky, of course. But when it comes to causality, itâs no secret that aggressive policing can make a huge difference.
AP
Rahm Emanuel
And Chicagoâs approach is decidedly more laid-back than New Yorkâs.
It doesnât use stop-and-frisk to counter its gang-fueled violence â but it does publicly plead with its criminals to move their crimes someplace else, so no one besides the intended victim gets hurt.
Really.
â[If] weâve got two gangbangers, one standing next to a kid, get away from that kid,â Mayor Rahm Emanuel told CBS News.
âTake your stuff away to the alley. Donât touch the children of the city of Chicago. Donât get near them.â
This is what passes for crime-fighting in the Windy City?
Well, yes. That and demolishing vacant buildings that have become gang hangouts. (Other, more structurally viable buildings are just boarded up.)
Oh, Chicago does stop people on the street. But cops usually donât frisk them in search of weapons, though theyâre authorized to do so.
Instead, the Police Department fills out âcontact cards,â which document incidents that âmay serve a useful police purpose but do not otherwise require any written reports.â
And they include a âgang information sectionâ â though thatâs only to be filled out if the police officer âdetermines that the circumstances may involve gang activity.â
All this constitutes what Emanuel calls âsending a clear message to gang members.â
Alas, it doesnât seem to be sinking in.
Again, experience shows that a strong police presence â stop-and-frisk especially â pays big dividends.
Itâs a key reason why New Yorkâ s crime levels have been so low.
And why this cityâs mayors have not been reduced to begging thugs to go commit crimes where no one can see them.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinio..._and_beg_iqx01JMxKT20iqSNqvnBiO#ixzz20MvPBaKN