One year in: Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling reflects on safety, officer morale

CHICAGO - Keeping the city safe and improving officer morale were the overarching goals for Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling. 

Friday marked one year to the day he took the job—and a chance to offer this progress report.

"What I want to do is make people feel as safe as possible," Snelling said during a one-on-one interview with FOX 32 Political Editor Paris Schutz at police headquarters Friday morning.

The department largely accomplished that during the Democratic National Convention last month. Where chaos and disorder were feared, the Chicago Police Department delivered security while respecting First Amendment rights.

"It went the way we knew it was going to go," Snelling said. "What I'm most proud of is our officers on the ground, who had to deal with a lot."

CPD numbers show all crime is down 10% this year, with shootings and homicides down slightly less.

The March killing of Dexter Reed—who allegedly fired at officers first after a traffic stop—led to disagreement between Snelling and Andrea Kersten, the head of the agency that investigates police misconduct, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA). 

Kersten spoke out publicly against the officers involved.

"When we make statements and we put things out into the media, we should make sure that we have some fact-based information. That's all that's important to me. As long as the facts are coming out, that's all that's important," Snelling said.

Snelling said murder clearance rates are above 50% as the department has turned to technology to solve crime. 

One piece of technology no longer available is ShotSpotter – the gun detection system the mayor chose to end. Will it hinder officer response times?

"I don't think anyone can predict that—we'll have to look at the results. However, we got the message out to our officers to make sure that we're pushing the message for people to call 911 when they hear anything that sounds like a gunshot," Snelling said.

Snelling said the department is short about 1,000 officers, as police departments around the country have had trouble recruiting, but he noted that overtime is down this year.