Chicago’s police superintendent urged Black Lives Matter activists to join the police force as he announced the department’s intent to hire almost 1,000 new officers.
The new hiring comes as the Chicago Police Department tries to combat the rising crime in the city, reports DNA Info.
Eddie Johnson, Chicago’s police superintendent, pressed Black Lives Matter and other activists to stop protesting and become officers.
“Instead of protesting the police, fill out an application and become one. Then you can really be on the front lines effecting change,” Johnson said.
Over the next two years, the Chicago Police Department plans to hire 970 more officers. They plan to bring on 200 detectives, 516 officers, 112 sergeants and 50 lieutenants and 92 field training officers, according to CPD Communications Director Anthony Guglielmi .
Johnson said the new hiring is the best way to combat the city’s crime problem.
“The truth is we can’t pull officers from the safer communities into the more violent ones. Gang members will figure that out and shift their operations. I’m confident that these added resources will make us better and give us the capacity we need to address our crime problems across the city,” Johnson said.
The city has not announced how they will pay for the new officers; the reduced overtime from current officers is said to be going to the new hires.
Black Lives Matter Chicago released a statement, criticizing the new measures. According to the group, the extra policing will cause more more violence and trauma in the black community.
“The causes of crime and intra-communal violence exist because of the conditions of poverty that Rahm Emanuel has exacerbated for Chicago. What more policing will accomplish is more violence, more lock ups and more trauma for our already suffering communities,” the statement said.
Send tips to amber@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.