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CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) - Chicago's top cop collects $260,000 a year from taxpayers. Being held accountable for his job performance goes with the territory.
But how realistic is it to expect that a new superintendent would do more to reduce violence? Experts warn against expecting any new CPD Supt. to achieve a sudden reduction in the murderous bloodshed.
"The police, one, did not cause the violence. But, two, they can't completely solve this problem. And I know we the people are feeling the police can do this. The reality is these problems are very deep and complex," Professor Dennis Rosenbaum with the UIC Dept of Criminology said.
Professor Dennis Rosenbaum has studied police responses to crime and the causes of crime in more than 100 American cities.
There are local variations, but most experts agree the police by themselves can do little about the root causes of violent crime.
Professor Dennis Rosenbaum has studied police responses to crime and the causes of crime in more than 100 American cities. There are local variations, but most experts agree the police by themselves can do little about the root causes of violent crime.
"We have poverty and we have segregation, we have low-functioning schools, we have broken families, and we have social disorganization in the community. We know what causes crime. And we also know drugs, guns and alcohol are widely available to anyone. And those facilitate violence," Rosenbaum said.
Critics of Supt. McCarthy and Mayor Emanuel have long demanded the hiring of more police officers, especially more detectives. One symptom of the shortage: hundreds of killers here are literally getting away with murder.
One website claims fewer than 24 percent of this year's homicides have been solved, though a department spokesman says it's closer to 33 percent.
The president of the police officers union says fewer than 400 of Chicago's 900 detectives investigate homicides and they're overwhelmed by crushing caseloads.
"We would love to see numbers in excess of 1,500 to 2,000 detectives complete. We'd also love to see another 2,000 police officers on the street, as well," Dean Angelo, President of the Fraternal Order of Police, said.
FOX 32 asked Angelo if he thought that would bring the violence down.
"I don't think it would hurt."