THE LOOP — Police Supt. Eddie Johnson played host to a one-day workshop with fellow police chiefs from cities experiencing spikes in violence Wednesday, as they shared tactics without giving away any details and called uniformly for stronger gun laws.
"All of us basically have the same exact issues going on in our cities," Johnson said Wednesday afternoon at a news conference called at the close of what was labeled an "Executive Policy Meeting on Reducing Gun Violence and Building Community Partnerships."
According to data presented by Darrel Stephens, executive director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, homicides in the 63 top U.S. cities rose to 3,031 for the first half of this year, up from 2,673 over the same period last year. Some 37 of those cities saw homicides increase. The total number of rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults and non-fatal shootings were also all up nationally.
Led by Johnson, the chiefs blamed easy access to guns for criminals and gangbangers who face stiffer penalties from gang leaders for not carrying a gun than they do in courts if arrested for illegal guns.
"Violence is driven by repeat offenders in Chicago with easy access to guns," Johnson said. "We need judicial accountability in the courtrooms and moral accountability in the streets."
According to an agenda for the meeting, the Chicago Police Department shared information on its "Strategic Subject List," a collection of about 1,300 interconnected people deemed most likely to either commit a murder or fall victim to one. Johnson and the chiefs gave few details on the police tactics they actually shared.
"We don't want to give away the game plan," Johnson said.
Even so, they agreed uniformly on the need for stronger gun laws. Washington, D.C., Police Chief Cathy Lanier said high-capacity ammunition magazines are "creating havoc in our cities."
Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn said his department faced the same problem as Chicago in trying to convince state legislators to adopt stronger laws in the face of the gun lobby.
"We are facing ideology, and ideology is impervious to data or facts," Flynn said.
Johnson again led the chiefs in admitting that the current social environment made police work more difficult. "Distrust of police is real right now," he said.
Johnson said protests sparked by the release of the Laquan McDonald video last November "set us up for a rocky year."
According to Stephens' data, Chicago reported 316 homicides over the first half of this year, up from 211 over the same time period last year.
Johnson pointed to swift action on officers being relieved of their police duties and video being released in last month's Paul O'Neal police shooting as signs of progress.
"We are trying to make some fundamental changes," Johnson said.
Johnson, however, skirted a question on how seriously to take reports that West Side street gangs might be targeting police in revenge for that shooting, saying, "We're still looking at it."
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