The Chicago Police Department announced Tuesday a sizable drop in the number of murders and shooting incidents across the city during the first quarter of 2018 as compared to the same time period a year ago.
March 2018 marked the 13th consecutive month of reductions in “overall gun violence in Chicago,” with a 17 percent decrease in murders and a 26 percent decrease in shooting incidents citywide, according to the department.
As of March 25, Chicago had recorded 106 murders, compared to 128 during the same time period a year earlier, according to police statistics. There were 392 shooting incidents — which do not reflect the overall number of victims — as of March 25. In the first three months of 2017, Chicago saw 528 shooting incidents.
The first three months of 2017 saw about 200 more shooting victims than in the first three months of this year, according to police.
Police officials give much of the credit for the downtick to the implementation of Strategic Decision Support Centers — data-driven offices that are outfitted to use sensors to detect gunshots and help deploy officers to trouble spots. The SDSCs are operated by both the CPD and the University of Chicago Crime Lab.
Chief of Patrol Fred Waller said “it’s amazing to me how receptive” the officers in those districts have been to using the centers.
Waller said that, though the early returns are positive, the department is still working to perfect its use of the SDSCs.
“Our focus is a little more laser-like,” Waller said. “We’re trying to find what [are] the best practices, how many officers for how long in a certain area.”
