Gang Members Outnumber Chicago Cops 10 to 1 as retirements soar

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Chicago gang members outnumber cops as police officers are on track to retire in record numbers this year.
• Chicago’s nearly 117,000 gang members outnumber the city’s 13,000 cops by roughly 10 to 1. 
• Retirements are reaching record levels amid nationwide calls to defund police departments and a rise in crime in major cities.

Chicago police said Wednesday that officers are on track to retire in record numbers this year. Data reveal gang members in the city outnumber law enforcement officers about 10 to 1.

Last year, Police Superintendent David Brown estimated that there are about 117,000 gang members from Chicago’s 55 known gangs.

Their number vastly exceeds the city’s police force, which currently has about 13,000 officers.

The gap may be even worse due to the high number of police officers retiring this year, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

There were 363 officers who retired between January and June, according to police pension board figures.

“We are on track, I believe, to have one of the highest retirement numbers in the city’s history,” said Ray Lopez, an alderman, or local official who represents the city’s 15th ward, the newspaper reported.

In 2020, Chicago saw 560 retirements, 475 in 2019, and 339 in 2018.

Lopez blamed Mayor Lori Lightfoot for the retirement, alleging she has demoralized officers with anti-police rhetoric.

“Many of our officers are not choosing to leave law enforcement as a profession but are retiring early to go to other departments because they don’t feel appreciated and respected in their home city of Chicago,” he told the paper.

President Joe Biden on Monday met at the White House with urban leaders to tackle increased gun violence.  

After the meeting, Brown tweeted, “we need a sense of urgency right now so we can save lives.”

On Monday, Fox News host Geraldo Rivera slammed the ratio of gang associates to police officers in the Windy city.

“A joint federal, state and local effort urgently needed,” Rivera wrote on Twitter.

Rivera said it was a “miracle” that the number of homicides in the city wasn’t higher.

Chicago reported 382 homicides in the city so far this year, according to Chicago Police Department statistics, which is five fewer than the same time last year.

Source: Fox News