Might National Guard Patrol Chicago To Stop Gun Killings?
It is April 26th and already Chicago has had 113 homicide victims this year.
That is unacceptable for those who live in Chicago, and for the rest of the nation to hear about. Something has to be done. Too many guns, too much anger, too many gangs, too many drug dealers and users, too many leaderless families, too much poverty all leads to far too many funerals. Now there is thought being given to a rather dramatic idea to stem the tide of violence.
A pair of state lawmakers want the Illinois National Guard to help fight what they describe as rampant gun violence in Chicago.
Reps. John Fritchey (D-11th) of the North Side of Chicago and LaShawn Ford (D-8th) of the city’s West Side have advocated the deployment of the National Guard to assist an undermanned police department with combating the seemingly endless shooting of children. Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis, however, has said that the military is not the answer.
This is not the first time someone has proposed getting the Guard involved in crime- fighting in Chicago.
Twenty years ago, concern with rampant drug dealing on the West Side was so great that then-Governor Jim Thompson was asked to send in the National Guard. He declined, and so have other governors in a number of cases since then where frustration over street crime has hit fever pitch.
With the recent increase in crime, the suggestion has once again come up.
“We’re not talking about rolling tanks down the street,” said Fritchey. “If we bring them in to fill sand bags and pick up tornado debris, we can bring them in to save lives.”
There have been similar requests in Chicago’s history to send in the guard, usually after high profile incidents or stretches of violent crime, but it doesn’t happen.
“When people are scared they want to take extreme measures, and extreme measures are oftentimes a mistake,” said Prof. Dennis Rosenbaum, a criminologist with the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Rosenbaum said military training does not extend to search and seizure, evidence protection, and Miranda rights. He added that using the guard as a policing agency in an urban area invites big issues, an opinion shared by Supt. Weis.
“As much as I would love to have as much help as possible, I’m not sure that mixing the National Guard with local law enforcement is the solution,” Weis said Sunday.
Solutions are elusive, but one of the strategies police have long used is to flood crime hot spots with officers and then maintain a presence to diagnose issues and players.
“It’s kind of a weed and seed strategy,” said Prof. Rosenbaum. “You need to take out the repeat offenders, but you need to build up the capacity of the community and others to guard against future events.”
Police say that the majority of Chicago’s crime is concentrated in 9 percent of its city blocks. However, even with the focus on those dangerous areas, there is frustration over a code of silence.
“We had an individual killed last night, and the person he was with has been shot and refuses to cooperate with us at this time,” said Weis. “The shooters again go free.”
Silence remains a key problem, particularly since a significant portion of shootings in Chicago involve gangs.
It is amazing that everyone notes there is a problem with the extensive occurrences of violence in the community. Young potential contributors to society, unwittingly willingly and unwillingly give their lives, or have their lives snatched for some “cause”. Responsible, law-abiding adults sit by helplessly as this happens. It’s terrible. However, the same youth who are committing these heinous acts are also the young students who attempt to take over in the corridors and the classrooms of the educational institutions. We, who fight the battle in the classrooms, are almost as helpless as those who fight the battle on the streets. Almost, because we often know names and other contact information.
Parents must take charge of their homes. Time out for being your young person’s friend. They have plenty of friends, associates, and acquaintances; they only have one set of parents. Help us help the children. If what your child is doing you find to be a part of the glory days of your youth, ask yourself, if the life you now lead was helped or hindered by your past. If your honest answer is a positive one, carry on. If it is not, do something to help those in the position to educate and innovate. Do something for our children.
“It’s kind of a weed and seed strategy,” said Prof. Rosenbaum. “You need to take out the repeat offenders, but you need to build up the capacity of the community and others to guard against future events.”
Sounds to me like they need to allow the law-abiding citizens to defend themselves. It would kill the repeat offenders (who would die or go to jail eventually anyway), prevent some future crimes, and give people a fighting chance against the criminals.
This idea was floated by two Democratic legislators. They later hinted the troops would not be armed and would not be engaged in law enforcement . I guess they would just walk up and down the streets and drive around in jeeps and hummvees an observe the crime taking place. I guess they would just be additional targets.