Chicago Police Superintendent McCarthy has failed to deliver in the category of reducing homicides in Chicago. McCarthy arrived in Chicago in mid-2011 to take over as Superintendent after Supt. Jody Weiss resigned.
According to the Chicago Tribune Red Eye Homicide Watch, an excess of 450 homicides occurred in Chicago during 2010 before the arrival of Supt. McCarthy. In 2011, there were over 450 homicides again in Chicago. When Supt. McCarthy took over as Superintendent in mid 2011 the homicide number was close in comparison to 2010. However, in 2012 homicides increased from more than 455 in 2011 to over 500 under McCarthy's watch. Supt. McCarthy touted a major reduction in homicides when homicides were reduced from over 500 homicides in 2012 to 440 in 2013 but in reality there were twelve less homicides compared to 2011 and seventeen less homicides compared to 2010 before Supt. McCarthy took over in Chicago. This is very important because nobody wants to talk about the real numbers and every year some officials present the numbers to make themselves look good in the press. Let's look at the homicide numbers in 2014 from January 1, 2014-June 1, 2014 and Chicago has already experienced 149 homicides compared to 148 homicides for the same period in 2013. No change at all and Chicago is on pace to repeat the same homicide numbers from 2013.
One may think that the majority of strategies that Supt. McCarthy is implementing in Chicago are not working at all. Chicago has changed in many ways when it comes down to gangs and the motives behind the violence. For example, the gangs in Chicago have no real structure and there are so many different motives behind the violence. The David Kennedy Approach which Supt. McCarthy has embraced from the East Coast dictates that you hold the entire gang accountable for the actions of a few individuals. How can you hold the entire gang accountable when there is no structure and none of the gang members really no when the other gang members are planning to commit a murder? If there was some structure in the gangs then one could understand the process of group accountability. Most of the young men on the streets are marginal members of a gang and only a small percentage of the gang members actually commit most of the murders. Additionally, the majority of marginal gang members are afraid of the killers themselves. That's why it's easier to get away with murder more so than selling drugs. People are afraid to come forward and share information regarding homicides.
After all of the good speeches and mass arrest in Chicago the homicide numbers are still the same. It's time for a different approach in Chicago and you would think that a seasoned police official would look at the numbers and make the necessary adjustments. That's the definition of "All Bark and No Bite."