It’s alarming that some of the police officers stationed in squad cars downtown and other parts of the city were merely for show — put there under the misguided premise that the sight of cops merely sitting in their vehicles would somehow deter crime.
Police Supt. Larry Snelling made a smart move when he announced Monday that he is ending this practice, called the Strategic Deployment Initiative, put in place by his predecessor, former Supt. David Brown.
“I want to make sure that any officer who’s working and sitting in a vehicle is engaging with the public and making sure that our citizens feel safe,” Snelling said.
We agree. Police should be doing actual police work — and more importantly, engaging directly with the public — not earning overtime for, as Snelling put it, these “scarecrow” details.
And this is especially true for downtown, where legitimate fear about crime is robbing Chicago’s cultural and financial center of its glow.
Last week’s horrific drive-by double homicide of Robert Boston, 16, and Monterio Williams, 17, at Washington Street and Wabash Avenue — not far from Innovations High School, a charter school they attended at 17 N. State St. — underscores the need for police work in the Loop that is real and not symbolic.
We can’t know for sure if having police out and about in the Loop would have prevented the tragedy. But Snelling’s move is a step in the right direction to enhance public safety.
Brown launched the Strategic Deployment Initiative in February 2022 as part of the police department’s response to 2021 being the city’s deadliest year in a quarter-century .
The initiative was supposed to “curb public violence incidents throughout the city” by putting police on “high-visibility patrols,” according to the police department’s latest annual report . Police on the detail were placed on fixed posts and paid overtime.
What will replace the Strategic Deployment Initiative? Any new tactic has to include foot patrols, with cops and commanders developing deeper relationships with downtown shop owners and institutions. (The same ought to apply to police out in the neighborhoods, too.)
Snelling said police have “a new strategy in place” to address downtown crime, but offered no details. Warmer weather is on the horizon in just a couple of months, so now is not the time to be close-mouthed. We hope the public learns more of the details soon.
But so far, Snelling’s on the right track.
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