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Chicago Sees A Violent Start To 2017

REUTERS/Jim Young

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Amber Randall Civil Rights Reporter
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The Chicago homicide count reached 51 in January, according to the Chicago Police Department Wednesday.

Chicago police also reported 234 shooting incidents and 299 shooting victims in January, reports ABC 7 Chicago.

January of 2016 saw 242 shooting incidents and 291 victims, police said. A report from last year shows that 51 homicides were committed in January.

Murders in the police districts of Englewood, Harrison and Austin made up about half of city’s homicides last month. Other police districts saw a decrease in the murders committed in January.

Murders went down in the Deering district by about 50 percent compared to last year’s numbers, according to police. The murder count either remained the same or reduced in 59 out of Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods, the department said.

Police also said that more guns were taken off the street than in January 2016. Police retrieved 600 guns, up 60 percent from last year’s numbers.

“We are beginning to see promising results,” Chicago police Supt. Eddie Johnson said Wednesday during a news conference.

Johnson also discussed some of the department’s latest additions to help fight crime in the city at the press conference. One of them is a Strategic Decision Support Center, which is supposed to help officers find the exact location of a shooting.

While the technology is helpful, Johnson said it’s crucial to bring jobs to the poorer communities.

“You have to give better financial support to these impoverished neighborhoods. Better jobs, better mental health care, better education. All of that stuff matters, but those are long-term solutions,”Johnson said.

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