Chicago still ravaged by violence

The number of homicides is down in Chicago, but the city remains the one where the killings are most numerous in the United States.

Proportionately, St. Louis, Baltimore or Detroit have higher crime rates, but Chicago being the third largest city in the country, the number of murders is naturally higher. (Photo d'illustration)

Anthony Davis spent years out of his hometown of Chicago, before returning there recently to take care of his elderly father. While settling down, he discovered an unrecognizable city, where gun violence reached new heights.

While the number of homicides decreased in 2017, Chicago remains the American city where we deplore the most murders: 635 enumerated in mid-December. Yet "as a child, there was virtually no gun violence," recalls Anthony Davis.

"Everyone knew each other," says the 50-year-old who works at Loyola Hospital and lives in the South Side, a neighborhood where a majority of blacks live and which was very lively during his youth.

Today, many abandoned houses punctuate the landscape. The violence reached levels that had not been seen since the 1990s, when the crack epidemic ravaged the United States.

Signs of hope

The year 2016 was a record in almost 20 years, but the number of murders has since decreased by 15%. Incidents involving firearms have dropped by 21%, with a total of 2,719 reported in 2017, according to police figures.

"Communities that were stuck in gun violence are starting to see signs of optimism and hope," police chief Eddie Johnson said this month.

In proportion (number of murders per 100'000 inhabitants), other American cities like St-Louis, Baltimore or Detroit have a higher crime rate. Chicago being the third most populated city in the country, the number of murders is naturally more important.

Yet, it is difficult to explain why the total murders in New York and Los Angeles (the two largest US cities) are only about half those in Chicago.

Police point to increasingly powerful weapons, military-style assault rifles, which would have led to warnings in some quarters about rifles capable of piercing officers' bullet-proof vests, reports Chicago Tribune. Officials are alarmed by the number of weapons in circulation, with more than 8600 illegally detained rifles seized by the police in 2017, a national record.

More police officers

To counter this violence, 1,100 additional police officers were recruited this year and new techniques were put to use. Devices that can detect gunshots, even before people alert the police, help law enforcement agencies, who use social networks to identify criminals.

In December, they infiltrated a private Facebook group where weapons and drugs exchanged, leading to dozens of arrests. The police spokesman said a meeting was planned in January between representatives of the social network and city officials to "improve collaboration to stop online illegal activities before they can stop". 'engender violence in our streets'.

Residents of the city feel that better opportunities for the population would be more effective to treat the root problem. "Opportunities to find a job, access to higher education, to become a homeowner," says Asiaha Butler, who runs a neighborhood association in the South Side.

"In my block, there were several firearms incidents in the early summer, but nothing more," says Butler about one of the areas most affected by the violence.