Dubbed the deadliest city in America, Chicago showed signs of improvement through the first quarter of 2013, a move Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy say is a direct result of a coordinated strategy among the city and police.
According to police, Chicago’s murder rate dropped 69 percent in March, with 36 fewer murders than in March 2012. For the first quarter of 2013, murders fell 42 percent, which amounts to 50 fewer homicides than the first quarter of last year, police said.
“This progress is a result of the hard work of the dedicated men and women who work tirelessly to protect our streets, our partners in the community, ministers, teachers, principals, parents and residents,” McCarthy said in a statement Monday.
In the wake of Hadiya and Jonylah
Coming on the heels of murders that shook the city and the nation, including 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton and 6-month-old Jonylah Watkins’ deaths, Emanuel praised the plan he and McCarthy started enforcing last year. “The downward trend in murders and shootings represents positive progress through our comprehensive strategy, yet there is more work to be done,” said Emanuel.
Police said shooting incidents decreased 27 percent from the first quarter of 2012. Murders are also being solved at a higher rate. According to police, in the first quarter of 2013, the rate at which murders were solved was 74 percent, compared with 23 percent at the close of the first quarter of 2012.
Since gang wars have consistently driven crime up in the nation’s third-largest city, Emanuel and McCarthy composed a comprehensive gang reduction strategy that police put into action last year, McCarthy told theGrio.
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