The Chicago Police Department hopes to free up the equivalent of 44 officers a day by no longer dispatching police for certain crimes, like burglaries and car thefts, in which the offender is no longer at the scene and no one is in immediate danger.
Police confirmed the change, which takes effect Sunday. Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy told aldermen last year he was considering a move in that direction.
The change is not related to plans by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and McCarthy to shift what they indicated was as many as 200 officers from administrative duties to beats, City Hall spokesman Bill McCaffrey said. That change would allow more officers to be assigned to teams that saturate crime hot spots, city officials have said.
The 911 dispatch changes and redeployment of officers come in the wake of the city's most deadly January since 2002. A total of 42 people were slain in Chicago last month, including 15-year-old band majorette Hadiya Pendleton, an innocent victim whose South Side slaying drew national attention.
Crimes that will no longer result in the dispatch of an officer to the scene include car theft, garage burglaries, criminal damage to property, the passing of bad checks and lewd, obscene or threatening phone calls that don't pose an immediate danger, McCaffrey said.
Officers will be dispatched if a suspect is still at the scene or is expected to return immediately, McCaffrey added. They'll also go to the scene if the victim is not considered safe or needs medical attention, and when it appears as if the officer could make an immediate arrest or an immediate investigation is warranted, he said.
When no officer is sent to the crime scene, a report will be taken over the phone by officers assigned to light duty. Last year, 74,000 reports were taken that way. The new rules are expected to more than double that number.
Ald. Howard Brookins, 21st, said he thought the change will be good, "especially if it results in a quicker response time to more serious crimes when they are happening in real time."
Brookins said he often hears from residents who complain that the response is tardy or even nonexistent when they call 911 to report drug sales, fights or burglaries in progress. He said he also hopes that it results in more officers on visible patrol, which he said will deter crime.
Police officers contacted by the Tribune agree that not having to respond to every call could help cops on the street respond to more serious crimes.
"It's almost like you increase your manpower when you reduce the number of calls," one police supervisor said.
But he gave an example of one potential drawback, in the case of a garage burglary, saying there could be a delay in the investigation if a detective doesn't immediately canvass the area.
Still, said one rank-and-file officer, by not responding to all the less-serious crimes, officers on the street will be able to become more "proactive," instead of running around the district and bouncing from call to call.
"It's really a drain on resources to go to every nonsense call like the dog's barking or the music's too loud," the officer said.
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McClatchy-Tribune News Service
