newjerseynewsroom.com

Saturday
Jun 16th

Chicago murder rate worse than Afghanistan war zone

Friday, 15 June 2012 11:11
gunspolice061512_optBY MAKINI BRICE
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Since 2001, 1,976 Americans have died in Afghanistan. During that same period in time, 5,056 murders have taken place in Chicago.

Chicago increasingly resembles a war zone instead of a modern city in an industrialized nation. The spike in the murder rate has been blamed on a number of things, including warm weather and a low police force.

The Chicago Tribune reports that last weekend alone, eight people were killed and 40 people were wounded.

In fact, according to PressTV, dozens of American cities are seeing reversals of the downtick in crime rates. Murders nearly doubled in San Jose last year, and rose in Oakland, Sacramento, and San Diego.

None of these cities have seen the surge, though, that Chicago has seen. While the overall crime rate is down, the murder rate is up 54 percent this year – 169 murders in 2012, compared to 110 at the same point last year.

In May, Mayor Rahm Emmanuel announced his “wraparound strategy,” meant to sharpen the city’s focus on improving neighborhood services after police target an area to eliminate gangs.

Chicago Police Superintendant Garry McCarthy has also brought to Chicago a program called CompStat. Developed in New York during the 1990s, the program seeks to help police target neighborhoods in which crime is likely to occur by analyzing crime report trends. More controversial measures that New York has taken to combat crime, such as the stop-and-frisk policy, have not been adapted in Chicago.

Andrew Papachristos, a Harvard sociologist who studies street gangs, insists that despite Chicago’s perceived need for more cops, the solution lies in a smarter police force. He said to the Austin Weekly News, “It's not about how many people you have on the street, but having the right people on the street - one good cop is better than three average cops."

Back to Top

 

Add your comment

Your name:
Subject:
Comment:
yvComment v.1.20.0


Follow/join us

Twitter: njnewsroom Linked In Group: 2483509

Hot topics

 

Children can be conned out of inheritance after multiple marriages

BY CAROL ABAYA NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM THE SANDWICH GENERATION Multiple marriages and blended families can mean children get cheated out of money and assets their parent(s) earned and had before the second or third marriage. At the 2012 senior citizens’ law day conference, Lawrence A. Friedman, Bridgewater elder law attorney, said elders need to protect their children of prior marriages from being disinherited. "Even if your spouse’s current will provides for your children, your spouse may change it after you pass away,” he said. In addition to protecting one's child, an appropriate will can minimize N.J. estate taxes, which kick in if assets are over $675,000. At the conference, Cathyanne Pisciotta from North Brunswick discussed guardianship which could be necessary if various legal documents are not signed. Pisciotta said that if a person does not have a durable power of attorney (for financial affairs) and a living will (for medical decisions), anyone else can seek guardianship of that person. An expensive court proceeding is mandatory. And she said, “If one person seeks guardianship, someone else can challenge the appointment. Another relative may seek to be appointed guardian because he/she wants the money and power.”

 

NJNR Press Box

 

Join New Jersey Newsroom.com on Twitter

 

Be a Facebook fan of New Jersey Newsroom.com


**V 2.0**