Does crime really feel that much worse now than years ago? (Chicago: 2013, high crime)

[Master Jay]

Robert9, thank you for sharing all the info.

I am not allowed to comment because I'm not a resident.

Mod note: You are free to post here. No member may dissuade another from posting in any thread.

[Robert9]

Originally Posted by Master Jay

Robert9, thank you for sharing all the info.

I am not allowed to comment because I'm not a resident.

You are very welcome. You will be a resident one day! And you are here SO much I think he might make an exception in your case. You are an honorary resident to us

[Master Jay]

Robert9, thank you for helping a guy feel welcome!

I'm honored!

In the event I WAS asked, I would say that I do agree that there has been a trend of crimes/violence/thefts occurring in areas that were typically free of such things prior to, say 2020 (coincidentally when the pandemic began!). Primarily, I reference the downtown area, such as Millennium Park area.

But such was the case in Norwood Park, and you know I helped a man that shot and carjacked off of Devon Avenue and Milwaukee Avenue.

Well, that's my 1 cent (I don't qualify for a 2 cents value!)

[Robert9]

Originally Posted by Master Jay

Robert9, thank you for helping a guy feel welcome!

I'm honored!

In the event I WAS asked, I would say that I do agree that there has been a trend of crimes/violence/thefts occurring in areas that were typically free of such things prior to, say 2020 (coincidentally when the pandemic began!). Primarily, I reference the downtown area, such as Millennium Park area.

But such was the case in Norwood Park, and you know I helped a man that shot and carjacked off of Devon Avenue and Milwaukee Avenue.

Well, that's my 1 cent (I don't qualify for a 2 cents value!)

Good because I can only afford the one cent! Thanks for sharing though

[Kmanshouse]

The crime is worse now compared to when I moved here in 2019.

We don't have enough cops. We have a mayor that is all talk, and is, as was said, vindictive. She needs to go, pronto, even if she isn't as bad as she's made out to be, the PERCEPTION has emboldened criminals.

There are still safe areas of the city. But they've gotten fewer. If a reasonably experienced and competent candidate who will actually be tough on crime can win the mayoral office, I'd expect things to improve and get back to "normal Chicago". The hoodrats, etc. have always been here, and demographics suggest the "bad" neighborhoods are losing population so there should actually be fewer of them today than there used to be. But the environment has made them more active.

[quigboto]

Originally Posted by Kmanshouse

The crime is worse now compared to when I moved here in 2019.

We don't have enough cops. We have a mayor that is all talk, and is, as was said, vindictive. She needs to go, pronto, even if she isn't as bad as she's made out to be, the PERCEPTION has emboldened criminals.

There are still safe areas of the city. But they've gotten fewer. If a reasonably experienced and competent candidate who will actually be tough on crime can win the mayoral office, I'd expect things to improve and get back to "normal Chicago". The hoodrats, etc. have always been here, and demographics suggest the "bad" neighborhoods are losing population so there should actually be fewer of them today than there used to be. But the environment has made them more active.

I don't disagree with most of what you're saying and I'm not a big fan of Lightfoot, but I have to wonder how a mayor is supposed to be "tough on crime"? Isn't that the job of the police chief and the DA?
When a mayor is "tough on crime" its mostly just tough talk.

I definitely feel that crime is on the rise, but then I have to ask myself, is it so much worse that it was, or am I just aware of more due to social media and things like the Citizen app? (Which I had to mute because it was making me paranoid)

Now that summer is pretty much here, we are going to see a lot more incidents like what happened at North and Lasalle, but the police have the unenviable position of not being able to do much about it until things are already out of hand (until actual laws get broken.)
Its not illegal for groups to gather and associate, in fact its a constitutional right. So cops can't just start cracking skulls because a large crowd has gathered. Add the racial element to it and its a lose-lose situation for police.

I'd really hate to be a cop in the city these days.

[personone]

Originally Posted by Kmanshouse

The crime is worse now compared to when I moved here in 2019.

We don't have enough cops. We have a mayor that is all talk, and is, as was said, vindictive. She needs to go, pronto, even if she isn't as bad as she's made out to be, the PERCEPTION has emboldened criminals.

There are still safe areas of the city. But they've gotten fewer. If a reasonably experienced and competent candidate who will actually be tough on crime can win the mayoral office, I'd expect things to improve and get back to "normal Chicago". The hoodrats, etc. have always been here, and demographics suggest the "bad" neighborhoods are losing population so there should actually be fewer of them today than there used to be. But the environment has made them more active.

You would think this, although people have been saying this for years; and I think they mention the "bad" neighborhoods losing population as a subtle way to hint that the demographic causing a lot of the trouble is shrinking, in order to suggest a rosier future. However, even with population shrinking in the bad neighborhoods, crime has continued to increase. All that to say, I don't think that is going to have much of an impact on the ultimate goal of decreasing crime. If it did, we would have expected a completely different trend years ago.

[personone]

Originally Posted by quigboto

I don't disagree with most of what you're saying and I'm not a big fan of Lightfoot, but I have to wonder how a mayor is supposed to be "tough on crime"? Isn't that the job of the police chief and the DA?
When a mayor is "tough on crime" its mostly just tough talk.

I definitely feel that crime is on the rise, but then I have to ask myself, is it so much worse that it was, or am I just aware of more due to social media and things like the Citizen app? (Which I had to mute because it was making me paranoid)

Now that summer is pretty much here, we are going to see a lot more incidents like what happened at North and Lasalle, but the police have the unenviable position of not being able to do much about it until things are already out of hand (until actual laws get broken.)
Its not illegal for groups to gather and associate, in fact its a constitutional right. So cops can't just start cracking skulls because a large crowd has gathered. Add the racial element to it and its a lose-lose situation for police.

I'd really hate to be a cop in the city these days.

The DA yes, the police chief no. The former police chief, Garry McCarthy, who was part of NYC's huge turnaround in crime under Guliani, stated that he wanted to implement much more "aggressive policing" policies, but he was not allowed to under Rahm. He said that, in combination with the DA not being tough on crime was the reason for Chicago's problems.

Even this current police chief has mentioned there are things they've wanted to do, but have had their hands tied because of the mayor. So I think the mayor and the DA both play a big role in being "tough on crime." The police chief does too, but only if allowed to by the mayor.

[Durpie22]

Originally Posted by quigboto

I don't disagree with most of what you're saying and I'm not a big fan of Lightfoot, but I have to wonder how a mayor is supposed to be "tough on crime"? Isn't that the job of the police chief and the DA?
When a mayor is "tough on crime" its mostly just tough talk.

I definitely feel that crime is on the rise, but then I have to ask myself, is it so much worse that it was, or am I just aware of more due to social media and things like the Citizen app? (Which I had to mute because it was making me paranoid)

Now that summer is pretty much here, we are going to see a lot more incidents like what happened at North and Lasalle, but the police have the unenviable position of not being able to do much about it until things are already out of hand (until actual laws get broken.)
Its not illegal for groups to gather and associate, in fact its a constitutional right. So cops can't just start cracking skulls because a large crowd has gathered. Add the racial element to it and its a lose-lose situation for police.

I'd really hate to be a cop in the city these days.

A previous poster has already addressed you question, but city leadership is put in place and given direction from the Mayor. So for instance, the police Chief. If the mayor wants a tough on crime approach then he or she will get it by hiring and telling the police Chief how aggressively to handle it and decides on funding. The mayor has a lot of power. Especially in Chicago.

[TBideon]

I'd go farther. Much father. Lori should have conversations with Pritzker about deploying the Illinois National Guard for at least for the warm months. Chicago just can't/won't solve its own problems, and requires paramilitary protections. Frankly we should be training, arming and deputizing civilians to operate in an auxiliary capacity as well.

Unfortunately, Lori has been hostile to utilizing the National Guard and, well, it's been a terrible six years or so with a bloody summer on the way.