Opinion

Trust in Chicago police has a high price

Posted April 13, 2016 1:00 am

Chicago's goal is to restore trust in the police. The African American community does not trust the police. Since the police department is under review, officers are required to fill out detailed reports every time they make a street stop, keeping the officers busy with paperwork instead of catching criminals. As such, they made 6,818 arrests in January, a 32 percent decline from nearly 10.000 arrests a year earlier.

Perhaps these numbers can influence the African American community in believing that the police officers are no longer profiling and therefore trust will be restored. What is the price for this so called trust? As of the first quarter of 2016, violence in Chicago has reached levels unseen in years, homicides totaled 135, a 71 percent jump over the 79 killing the previous year. Shootings reached 727 versus 422 - a 73 percent jump from the previous year.

Let's hope that the trust factor does not continue to increase, the city cannot afford to lose so many people.

Silvio Pontarelli

Mount Prospect

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