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What Chicago, other cities are doing to head off summer violence

An expected bump in violent crime this summer has mayors and police officials around the U.S. rolling out familiar strategies of making officers more visible and engaging with community groups, in some cases leaning on civilians to enforce curfews and keep the peace.

Chicago is under scrutiny following a mayoral race that focused on public safety in response to demands for change. Violence often surges during summer months, so this holiday weekend will undoubtedly ramp up pressure on Mayor Brandon Johnson's new administration to deliver short-term improvement along with the long-term strategies that the former union organizer advocated while campaigning.

“It's going to take all of us, not just the police, not just city government, to ensure that our communities can live and thrive in peace and safety,” Johnson said at a lakefront news conference promoting the city's Memorial Day weekend strategy.

Most large U.S. cities are reporting fewer homicides this year, according to data collected by the Council on Criminal Justice which created a Crime Trends Working Group this spring in hopes of providing more real-time information on crime.

The shift is a tentative reprieve following those spikes that began in 2020 and began to come down last year. The totals remain far higher than pre-pandemic reports and are “cause for serious concern but not for panic,” said Thomas Abt, founding director of the Center for the Study and Practice of Violence Reduction at the University of Maryland.

“Where cities are seeing success, they're generally investing in a balanced approach that includes policing but ... also supports community-based approaches,” Abt said. “They have recognized the need for enforcement but also emphasize prevention and intervention.”

In Baltimore, city officials — not police officers — will enforce curfews on teenagers starting Friday and continuing through Labor Day weekend. The controversial policy has long been on the books but rarely enforced.

“We are going back to the old days,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said in announcing the summer enforcement, after two teens were wounded as hundreds of teenagers gathered on a Sunday night in the city's popular Inner Harbor district.

That shooting in April, which unfolded while officers were trying to break up a fight at the scene, added to a significant spike in youth violence, which has persisted even as overall shootings and homicides trend downward in Baltimore.

According to Scott's plan, non-law enforcement staff will approach children and teens violating the curfew policy on weekend and holiday nights. First, they'll encourage kids to go home, but if that doesn't work, the children will be transported to a youth engagement center that provides a supervised environment to hang out.

In Chicago, mayors face annual pressure to demonstrate a proactive approach to violent crime ahead of Memorial Day, the traditional kickoff to warm weather and summer events where crowds gather.

Johnson promised to move away from a policing-first strategy as he took office at the start of May, but he's also distanced himself from calls to cut money for policing. He chose a retired department veteran as interim police chief.

Federal data show Chicago's homicide rate remains lower than other Midwestern cities such as St. Louis and Detroit, with 211 killings reported so far this year, lower than the same period in 2022 and 2021.

Johnson's holiday weekend strategy includes making officers a visible presence, including bag checks at crowded beaches, parks and events. Philanthropic and business groups have donated to anti-violence groups organizing events aimed at young people. And the state of Illinois has authorized a team of 30 “peacekeepers” — not police — who have training and experience in deescalating conflict, to roam Chicago aiming to prevent outbreaks of violence.

Community groups with similar strategies have operated for years across Chicago, focusing on specific neighborhoods or blocks with a history of violence. State officials said their team would be mobile and able to respond anywhere, including downtown, where large gatherings of teens during a warm April weekend ended with several shootings and other violence.

Norman Livingston Kerr led a Chicago anti-violence organization before he became assistant deputy mayor for public safety under Johnson's predecessor, Lori Lightfoot. He now consults with cities and nonprofits to develop anti-violence strategies that rely on de-escalation or intervention. He's encouraged by signs that the city and state are committing long-term resources to efforts like the peacekeepers program.

“This violence intervention work, it can take time for people to see it work and believe in it,” Kerr said. “I'm not going to dwell on the fact it took years to happen, I'm going to say this is a new day.”

Johnson has promised to give a variety of community organizations a larger role in his administration's public safety strategy and devoted much of Thursday's city presentation to promoting plans for basketball tournaments, neighborhood barbecues and karaoke contests.

Tamar Manasseh, founder of Mothers/Men Against Senseless Killings, said her organization has worked to prevent crime around a South Side intersection for nearly ten years using “positive loitering.” This weekend is no exception, with a neighborhood barbecue and other activities planned.

“We built a community center, our pop-up community center, in a vacant lot,” Manasseh said. “And since then we've seen crime drop astronomically. And we feel like that can happen anywhere.”

• Associated Press writer Lea Skene in Baltimore contributed to this report.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, left, listens to interim Police Superintendent Fred Waller on Thursday as they outline the city's public safety plan in advance of Memorial Day weekend. Associated Press
The Chicago skyline rises above the Jay Pritzker Pavilion Amphitheater in the city's Millennium Park Thursday. Chicago is heading into the Memorial Day weekend hoping to head off violence that tends to surge in the summer. Associated Press
Tyler Ribeiro from Tulare, Cailf., poses at Anish Kapoor's stainless steel sculpture Cloud Gate, also known as "The Bean," during a visit with co-workers to Chicago's Millennium Park Thursday, May 25, 2023. Chicago is heading into the Memorial Day weekend hoping to head off violence that tends to surge with rising temperatures of summer. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Two visitors at the Crown Fountain in Chicago's Millennium Park make a photograph Thursday. The state is assisting the city's effort to head off violence over the holiday weekend by sending in "peacekeepers" to deescalate violent situations. Associated Press
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson City announces the city's public safety plan Thursday in advance of Memorial Day weekend. Associated Press
Flanked by city officials and community leaders, Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson announces the city's public safety plan in advance of Memorial Day weekend.Thursday, May 25, 2023, in Chicago. Chicago is heading into the Memorial Day weekend hoping to head off violence that tends to surge with rising temperatures of summer. Even the state of Illinois is assisting by sending in what it's called "peacekeepers" in an attempt to deescalate violent situations. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Visitors to Chicago's Millennium Park are scanned for metal objects and have their bags checked by flashlight Thursday. Associated Press
The Chicago skyline is reflected on Anish Kapoor's stainless steel sculpture Cloud Gate, also known as "The Bean," in the city's Millennium Park Thursday, May 25, 2023. Chicago is heading into the Memorial Day weekend hoping to head off violence that tends to surge with rising temperatures of summer. Even the state of Illinois is assisting by sending in what it's called "peacekeepers" in an attempt to deescalate violent situations. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
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