A year removed from leading the U.S. in homicides with 506, Chicagorecorded 415 in 2013, the fewest since 1965.
Overall crime also declined by 16 percent in the city, falling to a level unseen since 1972. This came after a horrific start to 2013 that included 43 homicides in January alone, the most high-profile being the murder of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton, an honor student who was shot in the head just a week after performing at President Obama's second inauguration.
It was Chicago's most violent January in a decade and put the city on pace to surpass 2012's homicide count. Fortunately, the murder rate slowed down dramatically, a revelation that the Chicago Police Department attributes to altered crime-fighting strategies.
"We are making significant progress by putting additional officers in high-crime areas, using intelligence to prevent retaliatory shootings, moving officers from administrative positions back to the streets," Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy explained in a statement.
According to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, implementing programs to keep young people active and out of trouble played a huge role in reducing crime. The Associated Press added that Emanuel said 20,000 people participated in the summer job program, a new record.
To put things into perspective, there were 943 homicides in Chicago in 1992. While it might be too early to celebrate, progress has certainly been made.
[via ABC News]
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