Beat Cops Can Solve Chicago's Violence

So, once again the public is talking about violence in Chicago after July 4.  Last year, the weekend was one of the most deadly in Chicago’s history.  This year, the violence was down, but still extremely deadly.   Experts all over the country are now debating the causes.  However, has anyone asked the cops?  What about the citizens that live in these violent neighborhoods?  This article will focus on some common sense solutions that will put an end to the violence.

First, one of the biggest arguments presented today is the access to firearms.  This is only partially true.  The problem is that criminals have the easiest access and Chicago has some of the strictest gun laws in the country.  So, how does law enforcement combat that?  Cops are not in the business of passing laws.  Cops are in the business of enforcing those laws by arresting offenders.  Once a person is arrested, they are then placed into the “system” to face whatever justice is headed their way.  In general, cops don’t really care what the charge is, they just know that once the lock up a suspect, they don’t want to have to deal with him or her in the near future.

But, what generally happens is the person arrested is allowed to post bond.  Now, most arrests for possession of a firearm are minor offenses, so bond is indeed appropriate.  But, what about when a case makes it to a court and a prosecutor dismisses the case?  The person is then simply let out of jail.  They may not get their weapon back, but it will not be long before they can get one off the streets.  There is a huge black market for guns.  This is most especially true in areas where firearms are made more difficult to obtain.  Passing more laws in an effort to curb gun violence is not going to solve the problem in Chicago.  Getting rid of the black market for guns would be more effective.  The black market is a subject for another article and will not be discussed here.

Second, and in my mind more prominent, is the problem with gang violence.  Most of the shootings in Chicago have been gang related.  This is a much bigger problem.  One strategy for officers to combat gang violence is for city leaders to allow officers to be much more aggressive in gang related activity.  This is very simple to do.  The strategies involve zero tolerance on gang related crime.  Beat officers know where the gang members hang out, where they live, where they commit their crimes and who they are.  Policies that are passed that prohibit officers from aggressively going after criminals of this type make the community much more dangerous.  Officers must be allowed to go after gang members wherever they are at any time of day or night.

Another strategy closely related zero tolerance is the so-called “Broken Windows Theory.”  What this refers to is the fact that neighborhoods that look run down, stay run down.  When lawns aren’t mowed, trash is allowed to pile up, homes are allowed to sit in disrepair for months on end; the neighborhood tends to draw more criminal activity.  This includes graffiti, vandalism, gang violence, thefts and burglaries, to name a few.  When officers are allowed to target these kinds of areas by issuing citations for minor offenses, ticketing home owners for not keeping up their yards, locating and citing property owners for abandoned properties and the like, the neighborhoods see almost instant results.  The reasons for this are numerous.  First, the public sees officers in their neighborhoods.  The officers and community then begin to have normal conversations on a daily basis.

The area begins looking much cleaner and organized, thus lending the community to feel more together.  This sense of community begins to build as well.  More people then start talking to officers about crime trends, suspicious people or vehicles, and they take ownership in their community.   The partnership is then more solidified when residents notice crime dropping in their area.  This is called simply Community Policing.

Thirdly, legislators need to ensure that stiffer penalties are attached to gang related crimes.  Lock these criminals up for longer periods of time.  It may not be illegal to be a gang member, but it should carry heavier sentences if a gang member commits a crime.

These simple strategies only touch the surface.  Much deeper is the root cause of gang membership and the violence it produces.  That is a discussion for another article.  The bottom line here is that the Chicago leadership needs, for their own city’s sake, to listen to the beat officers.  They know exactly what they need and how to solve the violent crime issue.  Let them do what they are trained to do and give them the support they need.