McCarthy explains 4-month upward trend in murders

McCarthy explains 4-month upward trend in murders

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Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy is explaining his tactics in the face of an upward trend in murders on his watch.

September 2011 had more murders than September of 2010. The same is true of October, November, and December. Those months all had more murders in 2011 than they did in 2010, before McCarthy was in Chicago.

McCarthy says the murder number is obviously very important, but its not the most important.

“The single most important indicator is gunshots and street-level robberies and I know it sounds callous because if you control those the murder rate will come down, and you’re gonna have short-term spikes and you’re gonna have long-term spikes but the long-term spikes indicate a problem, the short-term spikes don’t,” said McCarthy.

McCarthy said they’re bringing down the robbery and shooting numbers, and the murder numbers will eventually correct and reflect the progress they’re making. He says when he was the chief in Newark, it took two years for the shooting and murder numbers to match up.