A Chicago alderman called public safety in his own city “a joke” Monday amid reports that police were told not to chase a group of armed robbers.
Surveillance footage showed a group of men robbing another man at gunpoint in the city’s Wicker Park neighborhood on Friday morning. When police pursued the criminal’s getaway car, a Chicago Police Department (CPD) supervisor ordered them stop the chase, CWB Chicago reports.
“Public safety in Chicago is a joke. Why bother calling Police,” Alderman George Cardenas, a Democrat representing the city’s 12th Ward, wrote on Twitter.
Public safety in Chicago is a joke. Why bother calling Police. https://t.co/C3pIXF21VE
— George Cardenas (@aldcardenas) September 13, 2022
In June, the CPD said officers would no longer be allowed to pursue criminals on foot. (RELATED: VICTORY: Lori Lightfoot Abandons Racist Interview Policy After DCNF Lawsuit)
Between Sept. 5 and Sept. 11 there were 14 murder complaints, 45 criminal sexual assault complaints, and 194 robbery complaints in the city, according to Chicago police. Year-to-date criminal complaints are up 38% over the same point in 2021.
Several affluent neighborhoods in the North Side of Chicago are resorting to hiring private police as crime rates continue to increase, The Wall Street Journal reported in April. Paul Ohm, the executive vice president of private security firm P4 Security Solutions LLC, told the Journal that the off-duty police officers his company employs carry guns but are not tasked with arresting criminals. Instead, they are meant to act as a deterrent and are trained to call 911 in emergencies, Ohm explained.