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Chicago PD Relationship With City Hits Worst In DECADES

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Ted Goodman Contributor
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The city of Chicago is reeling after a horrific Halloween weekend that saw eighteen people murdered from Friday through Sunday.

The weekend’s bloodshed brought the city’s total homicide number to 614 in 2016, according to official police figures. The last time the city saw more than 600 murder was 2003, and the 614 number marks the first time the Windy City has had over 600 murders since 2003.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, community involvement in 2003 helped solve 51 percent of the murders, while this year, community involvement has only helped solve 21 percent of murders.

One factor that makes 2016 different from 2003 is what is referred to as the “Ferguson Effect.” Following the police-involved shooting of an black man in Ferguson, Mo., in the summer of 2014 ignited nationwide protests and increased the scrutiny on police officers around the country.

Accusations of police brutality, mixed with increased tensions between police and communities of color led to law enforcement officers simply avoiding potentially controversial situations by pulling back from enforcement in certain areas. Additionally, distrust of law enforcement increased in those same communities, leading to a lack of communication and cooperation when incidents occur.

“There is no sense of participation, no sense of community now,” Dean Angelo Sr., President of the city’s largest police union, said. He also stated that “community-police relations are at a low point in his four decade career.”

Republican candidate Donald Trump received the endorsement of the National Fraternal Order of Police, the country’s largest police union, and many local police unions have come out in support of the self-proclaimed, “law-and-order” candidate.

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Tags : chicago
Ted Goodman