Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It's great to see Chicago going in the right direction!
I remember when I moved here 10 years ago there were between 650 and 700 murders a year and people just shrugged their shoulders (it was down from nearly 1,000 a year in the early 90's). That's been coming down every year, and last year we ended with 435. This year we've been solidly down around 15%-20% each month since March. Even June of this year really started out bad, and I thought our "luck" was up, but it's quieted down, and as of 6/22/11 we're 19% below our June of 2010 numbers (34 murders in June compared to 42 last year as of this date).
It'd be crazy if we can end below 400 murders. I don't think that's happened since the early 1950's.
Violent crime has been going down as well. A few references through May of each year:
I really like our new police chief. He came from the NYC area and has a lot of experience and new ideas.
I just saw yesterday that the police cooperated with neighborhood groups and local leaders to initiate a large sweep of 2 known gangs in Uptown where I live. They scooped up 18 known gangbangers last night on a variety of charges and dumped them in jail. We're very happy, as it's been a known problem to EVERYONE, we just needed backup to attack the few people who are poisoning the area. The neighborhood groups participate in a lot of "positive loitering" events where they gather in large groups with kids and friends on weekend nights at popular areas for gangbangers. If the 100 gangbangers in the area are going to terrorize the other 60,000 people, then we'll just flush them out through sheer mass.
There's a program in Chicago where anyone can just text any tip, picture, video or whatever they want directly to the police 24 hours a day. You just text "CRIME" and then your message. We've gotten very good at it in Uptown. See any gangbangers on the street dealing? Loitering groups who are getting in each others faces? People tagging? A fight? Everyone texts it in right away and the police have gotten good at being there within minutes. Or we just call 311 anytime we see anything at all. Basically just pissing off all the gangbangers and making them run from safe spot to safe spot to safe spot until they finally just move on.
There was also a shooting 3 weeks ago where two small girls were caught in crossfire at a park on the northwest side. The new chief said he was outraged and "declared open war" on the specific gang who's member was involved in the shooting. He said because of that stupid individual, they were directing all their "firepower" and efforts to completely destroying that streetgang. The members have been laying low and hiding out with girlfriends, out of the area, etc. - but this morning they announced a huge operation and sweep where they arrested 120 of the gang members the past few days on anything they could find, and said they're going to be following the rest around and just waiting for them to even cough in the wrong direction.
Who knows if it'll work, but it's VERY refreshing to hear.
Quote:
Police unleash war on Maniac Latin Disciples gang, arrest 120
Police Supt. Garry McCarthy declared war on the Maniac Latin Disciples after two young girls were shot in a Northwest Side park earlier this month.
The shooter was a member of the gang and was gunning for rival Latin Kings when the girls, ages 2 and 7, were wounded on June 8, prosecutors said. The younger girl was grazed in the head and the 7-year-old was seriously wounded in the back.
“We’re going to obliterate that gang,” McCarthy told a roomful of police supervisors shortly after the shooting. “Every one of their locations has to get blown up until they cease to exist.”
Two weeks later, 120 Maniac Latin Disciples have been arrested and seven guns recovered in what police are describing as phase one of their effort to cripple the gang of 300 to 500 members.
“We’re asking the state’s attorney’s office to prosecute them to the fullest,” said Nick Roti, chief of the Organized Crime Division. “We’re going to put them out of business.”
Of the gang members arrested since the shooting, 19 remained in jail while the others posted bond.
About five have been sent back to prison for parole violations such as testing positive for narcotics, Roti said.
The crackdown is being conducted by Roti’s gang and narcotics units, as well as the patrol and detective divisions. It’s focused on the Humboldt Park and Grand-Central police districts, where many of the gang members live.
Leo Schmitz, commander of the gang enforcement unit, said the Maniac Latin Disciples have been “laying low” since McCarthy declared war on them. Investigators have tracked some to girlfriends’ apartments or addresses outside their traditional turf, he said.
The Criminal Intelligence Unit in the Cook County Jail has been providing Chicago Police investigators with hierarchy charts for about 15 factions of the Maniac Latin Disciples, said Steve Patterson, a spokesman for Sheriff Tom Dart. The charts are created by interviewing jailhouse informants.
McCarthy’s war on the Maniac Latin Disciples follows an effort last year to punish other West Side gangs. They were warned by then-police Supt. Jody Weis that they would become targets of a crackdown if one of their members committed a murder. Sixty members of the Black Souls and 100 members of the Traveling Vice Lords were arrested on federal and state charges.
McCarthy said he supports that strategy. “When groups engage in violence, they have to understand there will be consequences,” he said. “This is not going to stop.”
Antonio Bucio is the alleged Maniac Latin Disciples member charged in the June 8 shooting of the two girls. His face is tattooed with a letter “D” sprouting devil’s horns. Prosecutors said Bucio admitted to shooting at rival gang members at Avondale Park, which is north of Belmont and west of Kimball near the Kennedy Expy. Police said they have recovered the gun used in the shooting.
On Wednesday afternoon, Aquiles Pena was at the same park, watching his two young daughters swim in a pool near the play lot where the girls were shot. Pena, 50, said he has lived in the neighborhood for about two years and occasionally sees gang members hanging out, but they don’t bother him. Still, he said he’s outraged by the shooting.
“I think they should be harder on gangs around Chicago,” Pena said.
A 4-month investigation into drug sales on the North Side ended Wednesday with the arrests of 18 suspects, police said.
The investigation -- dubbed "Operation Uptown Girl" by police -- focused on drug sales at various locations in the Uptown neighborhood and was started because of resident complaints about street gangs in the area, police said in a news release.
"Operation Uptown Girl" was a follow up to January's Operation "Sugar Magnolia," which closed down a gang drug enterprise that took in $500,000 a year in the area, police said.
Wednesday's arrests targeted members of the Gangster Disciple and Vice Lords street gangs who have been involved in a conflict over gang and narcotics territory in the Lincoln and Town Hall police districts, according to the release. The investigation involved dozens of narcotics purchases by undercover officers from known gang members selling within 1,000 feet of schools in the area.
After police spread out through the North Side neighborhood armed with arrest and search warrants, 18 suspects -- including three juveniles -- were taken into custody, and another 11 people are still being sought. During the investigation officials seized quantities of cash, narcotics and a semiautomatic pistol, police said.
Last edited by Chicago60614; 06-23-2011 at 08:29 AM..
I remember when I moved here 10 years ago there were between 650 and 700 murders a year and people just shrugged their shoulders (it was down from nearly 1,000 a year in the early 90's). That's been coming down every year, and last year we ended with 435. This year we've been solidly down around 15%-20% each month since March. Even June of this year really started out bad, and I thought our "luck" was up, but it's quieted down, and as of 6/22/11 we're 19% below our June of 2010 numbers (34 murders in June compared to 42 last year as of this date).
It'd be crazy if we can end below 400 murders. I don't think that's happened since the early 1950's.
1965, there were 395 murders.
Philadelphia - 159
2010 - 146, year total = 306
2009 - 143, year total = 305
2008 - 162, year total = 333
2007 - 202, year total = 392
2006 - 186, year total = 406
Dallas - 81, 6 of those are unfounded, justified, manslaughter ect.
2010 - 75, year total = 157
2009 - 95, year total = 173
2008 - 90, year total = 179
2007 - 115, year total = 224
2006 - 104, year total = 201* found two more accidental homicides.
2005 - 111, year total = 212
2004 - 112, year total = 263
2003 - 128, year total = 245
2002 - 79, year total = 201
2001 - 118, year total = 249
2000 - 115, year total = 231
@60614.. U like McCarthy huh.. The guy that lied why they had to close beaches on memorial day.. they said due to heat but in reality it was due to the mobs fighting etc.. Also that Maniac Latin Disciple article.. I read a different article and about only 10 of those arrested went to prison the other 110 are back on the street
I remember when I moved here 10 years ago there were between 650 and 700 murders a year and people just shrugged their shoulders (it was down from nearly 1,000 a year in the early 90's). That's been coming down every year, and last year we ended with 435. This year we've been solidly down around 15%-20% each month since March. Even June of this year really started out bad, and I thought our "luck" was up, but it's quieted down, and as of 6/22/11 we're 19% below our June of 2010 numbers (34 murders in June compared to 42 last year as of this date).
It'd be crazy if we can end below 400 murders. I don't think that's happened since the early 1950's.
Violent crime has been going down as well. A few references through May of each year:
I really like our new police chief. He came from the NYC area and has a lot of experience and new ideas.
I just saw yesterday that the police cooperated with neighborhood groups and local leaders to initiate a large sweep of 2 known gangs in Uptown where I live. They scooped up 18 known gangbangers last night on a variety of charges and dumped them in jail. We're very happy, as it's been a known problem to EVERYONE, we just needed backup to attack the few people who are poisoning the area. The neighborhood groups participate in a lot of "positive loitering" events where they gather in large groups with kids and friends on weekend nights at popular areas for gangbangers. If the 100 gangbangers in the area are going to terrorize the other 60,000 people, then we'll just flush them out through sheer mass.
There's a program in Chicago where anyone can just text any tip, picture, video or whatever they want directly to the police 24 hours a day. You just text "CRIME" and then your message. We've gotten very good at it in Uptown. See any gangbangers on the street dealing? Loitering groups who are getting in each others faces? People tagging? A fight? Everyone texts it in right away and the police have gotten good at being there within minutes. Or we just call 311 anytime we see anything at all. Basically just pissing off all the gangbangers and making them run from safe spot to safe spot to safe spot until they finally just move on.
There was also a shooting 3 weeks ago where two small girls were caught in crossfire at a park on the northwest side. The new chief said he was outraged and "declared open war" on the specific gang who's member was involved in the shooting. He said because of that stupid individual, they were directing all their "firepower" and efforts to completely destroying that streetgang. The members have been laying low and hiding out with girlfriends, out of the area, etc. - but this morning they announced a huge operation and sweep where they arrested 120 of the gang members the past few days on anything they could find, and said they're going to be following the rest around and just waiting for them to even cough in the wrong direction.
Who knows if it'll work, but it's VERY refreshing to hear.
@60614.. U like McCarthy huh.. The guy that lied why they had to close beaches on memorial day.. they said due to heat but in reality it was due to the mobs fighting etc.. Also that Maniac Latin Disciple article.. I read a different article and about only 10 of those arrested went to prison the other 110 are back on the street
Yeah, so far I like him a lot. He didn't arrest every single gang member to fill the prisons with thousands of new people. The tactic is to harass the hell out of them and arrest them for every little offense possible. Every time a person gets arrested it doesn't mean they go to jail for months.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
there was another Bust a few weeks ago....
