Chicago Police Department Needs to Step Up

By: Wayne D. Ayers II 

Chicago has one of the highest homicide rates in the country and one of the worst records for solving murders. And while a lot has been done to address the root of the violence, far less attention has been paid to just how many of these murders don’t get solved.

Chicago clearance rate was 25% last year, according to data compiled by the Virginia-based Murder Accountability Project. Other major cities such as New York and Los Angeles have a 70% clearance rate. In criminal justice, clearance rate is calculated by dividing the number of crimes that are “cleared” (a charge being laid) by the total number of crimes recorded. In Chicago, someone who makes a crime have 25% chance of getting charged for a crime.

It’s time for the Chicago police department to step up. They are getting paid to sit around and do nothing. You have bodies on the ground and you’re not investigating the murder. Instead of investigating you have officers that say the murder was gang affiliated. Last time I remember murder is murder. They are allowing gangs in Chicago do whatever they want. You have innocent people dying, you have mothers and fathers standing over a still body.

When you start finding multiple teenage African American women remains in a burnt garbage can it’s time to start investigating. Every crime is not gang affiliated and if it was gang affiliated you should still investigate it. As people we need to start taking care of each other and look out for each other but the Chicago police department needs to step up. You have bodies on the ground and don’t even care to investigate and charge people for their reckless actions.