In an attempt to meet the increasing violence in Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, on Thursday, in an often emotionally tinged speech, at a local community college, outlined his plans to shore up the police with 500 new police officers, in an effort to help address a situation that has garnered national headlines.
His appearance was also an attempt to redefine himself from the cold-hearted bureaucrat that could hurl F-bombs at unsuspecting staffers, or sneer at reporter’s questions, to one of a compassionate mayor, who deeply cares about the welfare of the city’s residents. For protestors outside, it was not enough as they held aloft placards some that said, “RESIGN,” and “END RACISM.”
Depending on your viewpoint, he was either successful, or was not. One area that he did not specify was how he was going to pay for the new officers, who, with training, could cost $138,000 during the first year. Not to mention how to further pay for those that would supervise the new recruits, and to fill the void for those promoted..
In an immediate concession to the increasing shootings and homicides, Emanuel, was forced to admit that it "threatens everything we have done together," and that fighting it will be "our top priority as a city."
"This fight belongs to all of us," he said against a statistical background that shows more shootings in less than one year, including the bloody month of August, and a Labor Day weekend that brought even more violence. The 13 killings that happened over Labor Day weekend in Chicago were enough to bring the city to a bloody milestone not seen in more than a decade. “The city reportedly topped 500 homicides for the year over the long holiday weekend, a number reminiscent of the historic violence recorded in the 1990.” noted local NBC affiliate, Channel 5.
Using a multitiered plan, Emanuel said that he would in addition to hiring more police, would harness that to community-sensitive policing, tougher laws for repeat gun felons, and a big increase in spending for mentoring programs for at risk youth and improved economic opportunities, and resources, in minority neighborhoods, where much of the violence has taken place.
In one of his more dramatic lines, the 56 year-old mayor said, "At the end of the day," reading from prepared remarks, "we will be judged by one simple question: Can a mother in any neighborhood in Chicago send her children outside to play with peace of mind that they are safe? The city of Chicago is our home. The people of Chicago are our family."
Crain’s Chicago Business revealed that there had been leaks, before the speech, and one of them “was yesterday's announcement that, after years of resisting, Emanuel intends to add 1,000 sworn personnel to the Chicago Police Department over the next two years, beefing up not only street operations but the corps of detectives, mid level supervisors and department trainers.”
Herertofore, overtime had been the rule and the cost of $116 million, last year, proved to be as ineffective as it was expensive, for the department, as the violence increased along with the evening news showing keening mothers, grieving over the deaths of loved ones, often bystanders, as the unintended targets in gang warfare.
Emanuel did say that the Becoming a Man program would see an increase of $36 million over the next three years. This program, while widely praised, also plays into his remarks about the absent dads, the mayor says he has observed in trials. For this, he has received some criticism, from the black community, which saw them as biased.
“BAM has shown great success in reaching out to young minority men with counseling, mentoring, job training and other activities designed to keep them from gangs and guns. More than 7,000 young men will be reached, said Crain’s. Emanuel noted, that "the deck has been shuffled against our kids. Let's reshuffle the deck and put our kids on top."
The mayor’s critics have noted, both before, and after this speech, if he truly cared about minority kids so much, why did he close more than 50 schools in mostly black neighborhoods?
With the increasing gun violence, the mayor also stated that he wants to have “law enforcement officials to crack down on gun stores, permitting them to inspect records, mandate safety measures and train store employees to detect traffickers.”
Yet, others, over the years, in previous mayoral administrations, as well as the National Rifle Association, have said they the guns used in most urban crimes are not purchased at gun shops, thus making legislative changes, a moot point.
With police abuse is running rampant across the country, including Chicago, Emanuel’s statement that “the overwhelming numbers of police officers in Chicago are doing good work under difficult conditions. They put their lives on the line every day in institutions none of us can fully comprehend or appreciate,” may not bode well, for him, considering the near erosion of trust between residents and police.
One program Community Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) which proved to be a watershed in improving police and community relations, especially in the 1980s and 1990s, was a recognized success.
As the Chicago Reader noted recently “through regular neighbourhood beat meetings and district advisory councils, CAPSA allowed police officers to work directly with community members to solve persistent problems like drugs and graffiti,” unfortunately had its budget cut, and reassigned to fight increasing violence in other parts of the city, by Mayor Richard M. Daley.
Emanuel continued the path towards financial insolvency and instituted programming changes, across districts, rather than police headquarters. All of which resulted in administrative isolation resulting in ineffectiveness; and making current meetings a mere shell of their former stronger selves.
Eddie Johnson, the new police superintendent has pledged that the program will be revitalized, but has been short on details. This may leave residents even more distrustful of the police, and its once successful program.
While the jury is still out on Emanuel’s proposals, many have said that it was a speech that should have been given years ago, still others say that it is not enough, and the shortage on specifics may renders it as more of a public relations effort. Others still note that conditions forced him to concede that his long allegiance to overtime was simply not working to stem the tide of violence, and that even now, the approach seems sporadic.
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