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Number of Murders in First Six Months of Year Lowest Since 1963, Police Say

By Ted Cox | July 1, 2014 10:58am
 Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said the murder rate for the first six months of the this year is the at the lowest level since 1963.
Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said the murder rate for the first six months of the this year is the at the lowest level since 1963.
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DNAinfo/Ted Cox

DOWNTOWN — Chicago saw fewer murders in the first six months of this year than it has in more than 50 years, according to crime statistics released Tuesday by the Chicago Police Department.

Police spokesman Martin Maloney said there were nine fewer murders for the first six months of this year than last year, and 82 fewer than during the murder spike of 2012, when the city rose above 500 murders for the first time in years.

The total of 172 murders through the end of June was the lowest at midyear since 1963.

"While to date we have had the fewest murders since 1963, there is obviously still a lot of work to be done," Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said in a statement. "We will keep building on our strategy, putting more officers on the street in summer months, proactively intervening in gang conflicts, partnering with community leaders, and with the mayor’s leadership the city will continue investing in prevention programs for at-risk youth."

 Ald. Bob Fioretti says brutal weather have have kept shootings and murders artifically low earlier this year.
Ald. Bob Fioretti says brutal weather have have kept shootings and murders artifically low earlier this year.
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DNAinfo/Ted Cox

The police department also reported that overall crime incidents were on the decline for the third straight year, down 15 percent year-to-date compared with 2013.

The number of shootings and shooting victims was up slightly, however, although down from two years ago.

There were 46 more shooting incidents and 85 more victims than midway through last year, but 227 fewer shootings and 221 fewer victims compared with 2012.

Yet Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd) refused to see the statistics as good news. He pointed out shootings and murders were down the first four months of the year thanks to the "most bitterly cold year we've had on record." After averaging 118 shootings a month, he added, that almost doubled in May and more than doubled in June.

Fioretti also pointed to how the murder rate is much higher than it was in 1963, because the same amount of people are being killed, but the city's population has diminished. Advances in treatment, he added, have made walking wounded out of people who might previously have added to the murder rolls.

"No, we're not pleased," Fioretti said. "Nobody should be pleased with this sort of shooting rate and homicide rate."

Fioretti also cited how the city's crime stats have been called into question in media reports and in an audit by Inspector General Joseph Ferguson. Progressive aldermen have submitted a resolution calling for hearings on their accuracy, although no hearing has yet been scheduled.

According to Fioretti, Ald. James Balcer (11th), chairman of the Committee on Public Safety, said he wanted to focus on gun-shop licenses last month and put off hearings on crime stats. Fioretti hoped for hearings to be called — at City Hall and in neighborhoods — later this month.

"The department has lost an immense amount of trust," Fioretti added. "They've got a long way to go to rebuild whatever trust was lost in our communities."

"If the administration is not worried about explaining the stats, then there should be a hearing as soon as possible," said Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd), Fioretti's colleague in the Progressive Reform Caucus. "The evidence in the Chicago magazine and IG report must be taken seriously. If the reports are inaccurate, let's clarify that in the hearings. If the statistics are being manipulated, we need to get to the bottom of that and fix it immediately. We can't keep the streets safe if we are not able to determine the amount of resources necessary and if the public isn't sure whether they can trust the numbers from the Police Department."

McCarthy used the encouraging data to renew his call for stricter gun control, saying, "Even with the best police and the best policing strategy in the world, without better state and federal laws to keep guns off the streets and out of the hands of dangerous criminals we'll continue to face an uphill battle."

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