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Near West Side Needs Twice As Many Cops, Alderman Says

By Stephanie Lulay | April 17, 2017 5:53pm
 Police keep guard in a West Loop alley after a 37-year-old man shot himself outside a dentist's office at 1017 W. Madison St. last year. The man had come to the office armed looking for an ex-girlfriend. Ald. Walter Burnett (inset) thinks the district needs far more police officers.
Police keep guard in a West Loop alley after a 37-year-old man shot himself outside a dentist's office at 1017 W. Madison St. last year. The man had come to the office armed looking for an ex-girlfriend. Ald. Walter Burnett (inset) thinks the district needs far more police officers.
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DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay

NEAR WEST SIDE — The Near West Side needs more cops, Ald. Walter Burnett says.

On Monday, the city released data on police deployments showing the Near West (12th) Police District has 339 officers. That number ranks 9th of the 22 districts in the city.

The beat saw 14,121 crimes reported between Feb 21 of last year and late February this year. Only five districts had more crime reported, but since the numbers include everything from thefts to murders, districts with more stores, for example, could see higher levels of crime.

But Burnett (27th) says the number of police should be more than twice what it is, considering the district includes two districts that were merged into one by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in late 2012. At the time of the merger, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said there were more than 500 police officers in the combined district.

"Our district is not only high maintenance, but we have spikes in crime," Burnett said. "We need more than double." 

The Near West Police District, which is headquartered at 1412 S. Blue Island Ave., includes parts of the West Loop, Near West Side, Little Italy, University Village, Greektown, Medical District, West Town, Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village, East Village and Noble Square. The district has about 35 police officers per square mile.

Nearly 128,000 residents lived in the area in 2010, according to the city.

The city added a number of new officers to the district earlier this year. 

"It should be more," said Burnett, whose ward includes the West Loop and Near West Side and spans four police districts. "The 12th District is two districts put together. ... I've got things going on on the West Side, Ald. (Danny) Solis has things going on in Pilsen. Both of us have little surges in violence happening in those areas. It's not enough." 

Burnett said in February the Near West Police District should "at least" have 700 officers.

At the urging of Near West Cmdr. Edward Kulbida,  three aldermen — Burnett, Solis (25th) and Ald. Joe Moreno (1st) — met with Police Supt. Eddie Johnson to ask for more officers earlier this year, according to Burnett. 

More officers "will help to stabilize the area," Burnett said. 

In the past, Chicago Police officials have refused to confirm staffing numbers in specific police districts. In January and February, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi declined to confirm Near West Police District staffing numbers. 

"For deployment integrity reasons, we do not give exact numbers of police officers to every police district," he wrote in an email. 

The 339 officers includes 22 new officers that were added to the district in late 2016 or early 2017, Burnett said.