Chicago recorded 650 homicides and 2,785 shootings in 2017, according to Chicago Police Department statistics released Monday. That's a drop from 2016's 771 homicides and 3,550 shootings, but still more murders than in New York City and Los Angeles combined. Chicago police credit new technology for the significant decline and are optimistic that continued rollout of Strategic Decision Support Centers and their accompanying high-tech equipment will lead to further reductions. So far, six of Chicago's districts have the centers, which feature technology that allows police to instantly pick up and pinpoint gunshots and alert officers through smartphone apps and in-car computers.
"I am proud of the progress our officers made in reducing gun violence all across the city in 2017," Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said in a statement. The Rev. Marshall Hatch, whose West Side church is in one of Chicago's most violent neighborhoods, was less impressed. "You still have to start with the fact that 600 people dead in Chicago is a hell of a lot of people to be dead in one year," he told The Associated Press, adding that he's concerned police will think adding new officers and technology will solve rampant gang violence and other problems caused by social conditions he says are best addressed through increasing social services.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Google avoids the worst in antitrust rulingSpeed Read A federal judge rejected the government's request to break up Google
-
Supreme Court allows social media age check lawSpeed Read The court refused to intervene in a decision that affirmed a Mississippi law requiring social media users to verify their ages
-
Nvidia hits $4 trillion milestoneSpeed Read The success of the chipmaker has been buoyed by demand for artificial intelligence
-
X CEO Yaccarino quits after two yearsSpeed Read Elon Musk hired Linda Yaccarino to run X in 2023
-
Musk chatbot Grok praises Hitler on XSpeed Read Grok made antisemitic comments and referred to itself as 'MechaHitler'
-
Disney, Universal sue AI firm over 'plagiarism'Speed Read The studios say that Midjourney copied characters from their most famous franchises
-
Amazon launches 1st Kuiper internet satellitesSpeed Read The battle of billionaires continues in space
-
Test flight of orbital rocket from Europe explodesSpeed Read Isar Aerospace conducted the first test flight of the Spectrum orbital rocket, which crashed after takeoff
