rockin'robin
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A long and violent year in Chicago ended with 762 homicides, police say. That's more than twice the number in New York City, where police said 335 were killed.
Last year marked Chicago's worst homicide rate in two decades, according to The Associated Press. The deceased were among 4,331 shooting victims during the year, accounting for 17.5 percent.
The stories of violence are unrelenting:
Nykea Aldridge, a mother of four, was shot dead in August after being caught in crossfire while pushing her baby in a stroller on Chicago's South Side.
In November, the 15-year-old grandson of U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., was shot dead over a pair of gym shoes.
'Spiraling Out of Control'
ABC News contributor John Cohen, a law enforcement and homeland security expert whose roles have included counterterrorism coordinator for the Department of Homeland Security, described the violence in Chicago as "spiraling out of control."
Beyond Chicago, he said, “a growing number of major cities are receiving a significant increase in robberies, homicides and aggravated assaults.”
He cited three factors he believes may be behind the uptick in violence:
1. An increase in gang activity and violent behavior by career criminals.
2. An increase in the availability of illegal guns, coupled with an increase in criminals' willingness to use them.
3. And an increase in the reluctance by law enforcement to engage in proactive, violence prevention policies. Such hesitancy, Cohen said, is because "officers of various ranks are worried they will respond to a split-second decision and end up being the next person blasted all over the media and will lose their job."
Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson told the AP recently that officers have become more careful, partly because they're concerned about viral videos.
Johnson added at a news conference last week that police officers are not the reason for the heightened violence in Chicago; he said over 8,000 guns were recovered in 2016 and all those encounters put cops at risk.
'Empowered' Gang Members
There is no simple explanation for why the violence is so extreme, Johnson told reporters last week, but he pointed to the prevalence of gang activity. He also noted that the "the anti-police rhetoric" in Chicago and across the country "has emboldened and actually empowered these gang members to do what they do."
Gang members may believe community residents will take their side instead of the police's, he added.
Johnson said the violence in Chicago is mostly on the city's south and west sides, in areas with a history of gang conflicts.
Of the 12 killings in Chicago over Christmas weekend, he said, 90 percent of the victims had gang affiliations, criminal histories and were pre-identified by the department's "strategic subject algorithm" as being a potential offender or victim of gun violence.
The majority of the 27 shootings Christmas weekend were "targeted attacks" by gangs against potential rival gang members at holiday gatherings, Johnson said.
Cohen, the ABC News contributor, said the concentration of violence in specific neighborhoods can be explained by social issues, like a lack of education or employment, which he said can create a feeling of hopelessness for young people and may contribute to why they gravitate toward the violent gang lifestyle.
Gangs not only provide income, Cohen said, but give young people a familial connection and sense of protection. "If we don't get a handle on this problem," Cohen said, "law enforcement officials that I've been speaking to are saying ... we'll see continuing increases."
(read more)
http://abcnews.go.com/US/chicagos-control-violence-produces-762-homicides-2016/story?id=44402951
Last year marked Chicago's worst homicide rate in two decades, according to The Associated Press. The deceased were among 4,331 shooting victims during the year, accounting for 17.5 percent.
The stories of violence are unrelenting:
Nykea Aldridge, a mother of four, was shot dead in August after being caught in crossfire while pushing her baby in a stroller on Chicago's South Side.
In November, the 15-year-old grandson of U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., was shot dead over a pair of gym shoes.
'Spiraling Out of Control'
ABC News contributor John Cohen, a law enforcement and homeland security expert whose roles have included counterterrorism coordinator for the Department of Homeland Security, described the violence in Chicago as "spiraling out of control."
Beyond Chicago, he said, “a growing number of major cities are receiving a significant increase in robberies, homicides and aggravated assaults.”
He cited three factors he believes may be behind the uptick in violence:
1. An increase in gang activity and violent behavior by career criminals.
2. An increase in the availability of illegal guns, coupled with an increase in criminals' willingness to use them.
3. And an increase in the reluctance by law enforcement to engage in proactive, violence prevention policies. Such hesitancy, Cohen said, is because "officers of various ranks are worried they will respond to a split-second decision and end up being the next person blasted all over the media and will lose their job."
Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson told the AP recently that officers have become more careful, partly because they're concerned about viral videos.
Johnson added at a news conference last week that police officers are not the reason for the heightened violence in Chicago; he said over 8,000 guns were recovered in 2016 and all those encounters put cops at risk.
'Empowered' Gang Members
There is no simple explanation for why the violence is so extreme, Johnson told reporters last week, but he pointed to the prevalence of gang activity. He also noted that the "the anti-police rhetoric" in Chicago and across the country "has emboldened and actually empowered these gang members to do what they do."
Gang members may believe community residents will take their side instead of the police's, he added.
Johnson said the violence in Chicago is mostly on the city's south and west sides, in areas with a history of gang conflicts.
Of the 12 killings in Chicago over Christmas weekend, he said, 90 percent of the victims had gang affiliations, criminal histories and were pre-identified by the department's "strategic subject algorithm" as being a potential offender or victim of gun violence.
The majority of the 27 shootings Christmas weekend were "targeted attacks" by gangs against potential rival gang members at holiday gatherings, Johnson said.
Cohen, the ABC News contributor, said the concentration of violence in specific neighborhoods can be explained by social issues, like a lack of education or employment, which he said can create a feeling of hopelessness for young people and may contribute to why they gravitate toward the violent gang lifestyle.
Gangs not only provide income, Cohen said, but give young people a familial connection and sense of protection. "If we don't get a handle on this problem," Cohen said, "law enforcement officials that I've been speaking to are saying ... we'll see continuing increases."
(read more)
http://abcnews.go.com/US/chicagos-control-violence-produces-762-homicides-2016/story?id=44402951
