The police department in the Democrat-run city of Chicago is so under-staffed detectives are being told to put on a uniform and go sit on a salt truck.
Yes, you read that correctly, plain-clothes detectives who are trained and paid to investigate crimes like homicide are being ordered to put on a uniform and “sit in a fixed position or on a street corner, sometimes with a ‘city asset’ such as a salt truck[.]”
The “memo” in question was obtained by CWBChicago and lays out just how bad things have gotten under Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot and David Brown, who was installed as Chicago Police Department Superintendent in April of 2020.
Obviously, a lot’s happened since April of 2020, namely the 1619 Riots launched by the domestic terrorists in Black Lives Matter and Antifa. All around the county we—Sorry, allow me to back up a bit… In Democrat-run cities all around the country we have seen countless examples of the quislings who run these cities doing everything in their power to prove their fealty to the terrorists while at the same undermining their own police force.
To prove their fealty, many Democrat-run cities have given into the terrorists’ demands by drastically reducing police budgets.
To prove their fealty, many Democrat-run cities refuse to prosecute the terrorists, which not only keeps the terrorists on the streets to terrorize, but is a backdoor legalization of looting, arson, and other forms of mob action. Naturally, this only encourages more.
Most of all, though, pretty much every major city run by Democrats (including Lightfoot’s) has bludgeoned police morale with anti-police rhetoric that ensures police officers will be terrified to do their job, especially if it requires some kind of physical force. This not only puts the city and its citizens at risk, it puts officers at risk of either not acting to protect their own lives or doing so and becoming the American left’s next mob victim.
The Chicago PD numbers speak for themselves [emphasis mine]:
Since Brown joined CPD, 19 of the department’s 22 police districts — including all of its most violent — have lost at least 12% of their cops, according to records provided by Chicago’s Office of the Inspector General.
The reduction in beat-level cops is partly the result of CPD losing 5% of officers over the past year to retirements and younger officers leaving for other opportunities, city records show. Another 1,000 cops who used to report to work in neighborhoods have been transferred to new citywide units that Brown created to handle hotspots and participate in community relations activities like shoveling snow and filling potholes.
Yes, that’s correct, this moron has his police officers shoveling snow and filling potholes. Can you imagine?
Would you want to be a Chicago police officer if you were forced to shovel snow and fill potholes? Especially it if was just for show?
Having your police officers fill potholes does nothing for community relations (other than undermine their authority) and everything to undermine police morale. The results…
The Gresham District, third-worst in the city for homicides last year, has lost 25% of its beat cops under Brown. The second-worst and worst districts for murder last year, Englewood and Harrison, have both lost 22% of their front-line cops, the data shows.
On the North Side, CPD’s Lakeview-based Town Hall district has shed 16% of its officers under Brown, leaving it with a total force of 327 officers. That’s among the lowest numbers recorded since CWBChicago began tracking Town Hall’s police headcount in 2013.
On top of staffing levels decimated by nearly a quarter, CWBChicago reports staffing is “even worse than the numbers appear. CPD brass continues to send units away from neighborhood patrol to sit on Michigan Avenue, State Street, and other downtown locations to maintain visibility since last year’s looting.”
Things are so bad, non-violent crimes, like coming home to a house emptied by burglars, are now reported over the phone. No one comes out to take a look and file the report. Oh, and the phone number you’re supposed to call is no longer 24/7, it closes down overnight, so you’re encouraged to drive to a local precinct to file your report.
Finally, there is this madness:
On Wednesday, some detective supervisors were informed of “a new anti-violence initiative” that the department is rolling out: All five of CPD’s detective divisions will assign eight detectives to work in uniform as an “incident response team” on morning and evening shifts, the email said.
According to the message, the response teams “will be activated anytime a district has multiple shooting incidents or whatever other criteria is decided.”
But the detectives won’t be going to the scene to investigate the shootings. Instead, they will be assigned to sit in a fixed position or on a street corner, sometimes with a “city asset” such as a salt truck or CTA supervisor, the memo said.
Can you imagine what this is doing to the morale of these detective squads? These men and women spend years working their way up to detective and now they’re being pulled off the job, told to put on a uniform, and go sit on a salt truck.
This is what a failed city looks like… A city that is so poorly managed and governed, panicky fingers are being thrust into non-stop leaks.
The problems in Chicago are only going to get worse – the violence problems as well as the police staffing problems. Chicago can’t fix its streets and can’t keep you safe… This is a once great city in a death spiral.
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