Hiring more supervisors was likely to be among the demands that will eventually be made by the Justice Department in its ongoing investigation of Chicago police, which was prompted by the Laquan McDonald officer-involved shooting scandal.
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CPD spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi told the Associated Press that the almost 1,000 new positions will be broken down between “516 new officers, 92 field-training officers, 200 detectives, 112 sergeants, and 50 lieutenants”.
Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said the emphasis would be on bolstering a depleted detective division, increasing leadership and focusing on policing on the city’s most violent areas. “I’m determined that this is not a budget question, we won’t raise property taxes to pay for it, we’ll have the resources to pay for our obligations”.
“We have been pushing for more bodies since this administration took office … and I don’t know if it was me or all the crime or the silent majority being heard that they need and want more police presence”, said Fraternal Order of Police President Dean Angelo.
The sworn officers will be hired over the next two years, bringing the department’s total number to about 13,500.
Johnson said that the decision to increase the police force came following discussions with the mayor but said that he had no information on how Chicago planned to pay for the addition of new officers.
“We have 1,400 individuals that drive this gun violence in this city”, Superintendent Johnson told a news conference in August, adding that police have recovered 6,000 guns in Chicago this year.
The cost of a new police officer is $138,000 in the first year, which includes salary, supervision and other benefits, city budget spokeswoman Molly Poppe said.
Chicago has seen a dramatic rise in the number of shootings and homicides this year.
FOX News reported that at this pace, the murder rate in Chicago is expected to soar beyond the 600-homicide mark for the first time since 2003. More than 3,000 people already have been shot in the city this year, a number that already has surpassed the 2,980 people shot last year.
Plus, the department that’s long struggled with a reputation for police misconduct and brutality has been beset by criticism and an erosion of trust in the wake of several fatal police shootings.
After video of the shooting was released, Emanuel, former police chief Garry McCarthy, and the entire police force were subject to local and national outrage. And there have been signs that the department has had a hard time keeping up with the crime starting with the fact that the percentage of homicides that detectives have been able to solve has dropped significantly.
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The fallout over the video prompted Emanuel to fire his first police superintendent, Garry McCarthy at the end of past year. During that time, the call for more officers in several city neighborhoods and from aldermen has only gotten louder.
