Homicides in #Chicago are down for the second year in a row. Preliminary numbers show that homicides fell about 100 last year compared to 2017, according to data released today.
Let’s hope this downward trend continues for the third largest city in the nation. Police reported that there were 561 homicides committed between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2018. That compares to 660 homicides in 2017 and more than 770 in 2016, which marked a 19-year high that put a national spotlight on Chicago’s gun violence, according to @abcnews.
Chicago police credit the decreases in violence in part to the addition of more than 1,000 new officers in recent years. They also cite the creation of high-tech nerve centers in 20 out of the city’s 22 police districts, where officers rely on gunshot-detection technology and predictive analytics that help quickly get police to areas where violence is most likely to spark.
“Are we where we want to be? Of course not,” Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told the Chicago Tribune in a recent interview. “I do think we are taking steps in the right direction.”
Official numbers for 2018 are actually expected to be released in several weeks, according to the department. Johnson has previously said “a reasonable goal” would be to one day get the annual number of homicides below 300.
Despite the reduction in homicides, Chicago’s homicides for 2018 were higher than the combined totals of New York City, which had 278 homicides, and Los Angeles, which had 243.
President Donald Trump has often singled out Chicago’s high homicide rate, tweeting in 2017: “If Chicago doesn’t fix the horrible ‘carnage’ … I will send in the Feds!”
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has accused Trump of oversimplifying the problem and potential solutions.
We are truly hoping things continue to get better in Chicago and champion the activists who are working hard to empower the communities there!
Stay here for all the latest, #Roommates!
TSR STAFF: Christina C! @cdelafresh
