BRIDGEPORT — The Chicago Police Department's gun recovery tour continued at the Deering district police station Monday afternoon.
Following a press conference one week ago in which officers displayed a table full of guns in Pullman, police Supt. Garry McCarthy stood with several aldermen, including Ald. Edward Burke (14th), James Balcer (11th), Willie Cochran (20th) and George Cardenas (12th), to display a table full of guns and announce that more than 680 firearms have been seized since Jan. 1.
Around 100 firearms have been recovered citywide in the last seven days.
"It's not just the numbers, it's reality," McCarthy said, offering his reasoning behind the weekly gatherings. "I want you to see what these men and women are out doing."
According to police, Chicago recovers 2½ times the number of guns than the entire city of New York — a city three times Chicago's size.
"The frequency of firearm seizures in Chicago is a critical issue which we must keep at the forefront to demonstrate why strong gun legislation is needed," McCarthy said, calling the ratio between Chicago and New York "astounding."
"We're doing everything and more that New York is doing — the number one issue is firearms on the streets," he added.
Along with keeping firearm seizures at the "forefront," McCarthy repeated his call for stricter gun legislation in Chicago, including mandatory reporting of guns that are lost and stolen.
"The policing strategies and techniques we're using are effective," he said, noting that aldermen and Mayor Rahm Emanuel are currently "putting together a comprehensive package" for gun laws in the city.
Police cited recent cases in which tips from residents and work from police resulted in the seizure of several weapons, all loaded, along with the arrest of a convicted felon and known gang member. That man was charged in connection with a revolver and two semiautomatic handguns.
But, as police noted last week, the city can only impose a six-month maximum sentence on individuals found with stolen firearms.
