Chicago seems to be doing the better for it:
Following a year when Chicago led the nation in homicides with more than 500, the city’s Police Department said Wednesday that in 2013 the city recorded the fewest killings since 1965 and saw its overall crime rate fall to level not seen since 1972.
The city, which ended the year with a 16 percent drop in crime, saw the numbers of violent crimes, including robbery, aggravated battery and criminal sexual assault drop significantly — some by double digits– as well as drops in burglary and motor vehicle theft….”We are making significant progress by putting additional officers in high-crime areas, using intelligence to prevent retaliatory shootings, moving officers from administrative positions back to the streets,” Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said in a statement.
One reason Chicago has been in the national spotlight is that in recent years it has recorded more homicides than larger cities like New York City and Los Angeles. That was again true in 2013, with New York recording 333 homicides, the lowest number since comparable record-keeping began in 1963. And, according to the Los Angeles Times, as of Dec. 28, there were 250 homicides in LA, compared with 298 the year before.
In Chicago, the police also said the number of shootings fell 24 percent from 2,448 to 1,864 between 2012 and 2013, and the number of shooting victims dropped from 3,066 to 2,328 for the same period. Further, the department said every police district in the city saw a reduction in crime and all but four of the city’s 22 police districts saw the number of homicides either fall or remain the same as the year before.
Also interesting that Chicago is in the forefront of repealing horrible gun control laws. Not only is this because of the current climate on gun laws in the nation, but it is also at a time where more people from Chicago and Illinois are BUYING guns at the highest rate ever.
Am I saying the relaxation of gun laws, and people’s interest in being armed for self defense are lowering the homicide rate? No. But one thing is true…you can’t say these changes made things WORSE!
“‘We are making significant progress by putting additional officers in high-crime areas, using intelligence to prevent retaliatory shootings, moving officers from administrative positions back to the streets,’ Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said in a statement.”
Note the emphasized bits. I’m absolutely sure they’ll try to spin it a different way, but to me it seems that having more “good guys with guns” out there actually seems to have a positive effect.
This is my shocked face.