CHICAGO (WLS) — On the cusp of what has historically been a violent season for Chicago, Police Superintendent Larry Snelling has released a broad sweeping plan laying out his vision for change in the department.
After 33 years of wearing a Chicago police uniform, Snelling told the ABC 7 I-Team his focus remains on the rank-and-file officers on the city’s streets, along with improving community relationships.
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“If my officers don’t have what they need, if they’re not well-prepared, well-trained, body, mind, spirit, and they’re not supported, then I’m putting an officer into a community that’s unprepared to deal with that community,” Snelling said.
Snelling said that’s at the core of his 59-page strategic plan, billed on the department’s website as a three-year plan or guide focused on building community trust, neighborhood safety and internal growth within the department.
The strategy is Snelling’s vision for repairing relationships with the city’s neighborhoods.
“What we’re looking to do with the Chicago Police Department is move forward with a lot of the efforts that are already in place,” Snelling said.
According to the most recent Chicago police crime data analyzed by the I-Team, violent crime has decreased citywide by 5.5% in the last 12 months compared to the yearly average of the previous three years, with 26,192 violent crimes in the last 12 months compared to the previous three-year average of 27,721 crimes.
Carjackings that terrorized city drivers are down more than 35.4%, from 838 crimes in the last 12 months compared to the previous three-year average of 1,298 crimes.
But ABC7 Chicago’s analysis found violent crime on Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) platforms, stations, trains and buses has increased by 11.7% in the past 12 months compared to the previous three-year average, with 842 crimes in the last 12 months compared to the previous three-year average of 754 crimes.
The CTA is only mentioned once in plans to assign officers to “Unhoused Mobile Teams… to better connect individuals to services.”
But Snelling said patrolling the CTA is still a priority.
“When the summer months come, we know that there are more people riding, ridership increases, and we want to have more officers out there to be prepared for that,” Snelling said. “We have officers ride the trains every now and again, and then we have officers on the platforms.
Another top of mind issue is large gatherings of teenagers and young people.
“When it comes to teen takeovers and any other type of crime or violent crimes, we do want to partner with the community,” Snelling explained. “My focus has been more on how to prevent these things from occurring.”
“Things like this can happen at any time of the day,” Snelling said. “We want to make sure that we have plans in place to stop it before it even happens.”
This is the first strategic plan Snelling has put out since becoming police superintendent in September 2023.
Officials said it’s intended to be something of a living document that will change as the department receives public feedback through May 7.
Anyone can weigh in on the plan through the department’s website linked here.
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