As preparations are underway in Chicago to host the Democratic National Convention in August, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling reported the city’s clearance rate for homicides this year is 74 percent.
Snelling on Wednesday, January 31, spoke at the Union League Club of Chicago before a packed room of business leaders who heard him give a rosy speech on his Department’s progress on tackling crime and safety, two issues that concern the city’s affluent who work in and operate businesses in the Loop.
While the speech was short on details and failed to address concerns in the Black community, it aimed to address concerns and calm fears that the city’s affluent residents have about the future of Chicago’s downtown, which has been hit in recent years with shootings, vandalism and shoplifting.
With crime statistics still low at the beginning of the year, Snelling took advantage of early numbers and painted an impressive picture of his Department’s efforts to reduce crime in the city. He gave several statistics to show that crimes such as homicides and carjackings are down in the city, while the clearance rates for murders are soaring at 74 percent.
But later, Snelling provided some clarification for that statistic, saying that the 74 percent represents the first 30 days in January, where the Chicago police solved 20 out of 26 homicide cases so far this year.
Crime statistics do show that the city homicide rate declined last year, but questions remains whether his Department can maintain a high clearance rate throughout the year when in years’ past, it was below 20 percent.
Snelling and Chicago leaders are under pressure to clean up the city’s image and reputation before it gains the global spotlight during the Democratic National Convention at the United Center, just seven months away.
A product of Englewood, Snelling took the helm at the Chicago Police Department last September after the City Council confirmed his appointment by a vote of 48-0. He once led the Department’s Counterterrorism Division, where he acquired skills that may prove valuable as security concerns grow ahead of the upcoming Convention.
Snelling spoke for over 11 minutes at the Union League Club before an hour-long sit-down interview with Tom Schuba, assistant criminal justice editor for the Chicago Sun-Times.
During his speech, Snelling gave some impressive statistics on his Department’s war on crime. He said so far this year, there were 379 fewer shootings than this time last year. Snelling said this month homicides are down by 40 percent.
Chicago also experienced a 53-percent reduction in carjackings, going from 2,600 in January 2023 to 1,200 last month Snelling said.
“We are trending in the right direction,” Snelling told the crowd. “But we also understand that there are people who are still affected and we’re going to continue to work with those people.
“Motor vehicle thefts are being used in secondary crimes such as armed robberies and smash-and-grabs, and it has affected you downtown and [residents] across the city.”
Snelling said robberies are down by over 200 incidents right now, compared to last January. He said the decline amounts to a 38-percent drop.
“Still there are too many robberies,” he said.
Snelling attributed the reductions to his Department’s individual bureaus, which he said are now sharing information for the first time, unlike previous years.
“What we’re doing now is everyone is working together in lockstep with each other. We’re sharing information. We’re using technology,” he said.
To reduce carjackings, Snelling said, CPD is working with federal, state and county authorities while making arrests. Snelling said he met with Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx about cases and charges. He said the two will have monthly meetings to provide updates on cases.
The city’s top cop told the crowd his Department made 187 arrests for retail thefts and returned $3.8 million in merchandise to Chicago businesses.
But Snelling said 2024 will be “challenging,” with a summer schedule that will include the Democratic National Convention, NASCAR, Lollapalooza, the Bud Billiken Parade and the annual Chicago Air and Water Show. Most of those events will take place in Chicago’s high-profile tourist areas.
When his Department learned Chicago would host the Convention, Snelling noted that they “started training right away. We had about a year to prepare. That’s not a lot of time.
“As far as the Democratic National Convention, I want everyone to know that we are working to make sure this city is safe, and that we [will] have the best Convention that we can possibly have.”
With a rise in suicides and retirements among officers, Schuba asked Snelling what he thought went wrong in the Department under his predecessor, David Brown.
Snelling said, “officers felt they were being mistreated. We had low morale, especially with a job like this. A lot of civil unrest had a lot to do with a spike in crime also. Officers didn’t feel supported. They were getting a lot of negativity from the media, from their families, on social media. And then internally, they had no time to decompress.
“We have a great responsibility and with that responsibility comes accountability. We do have to hold our officers accountable for the decisions they make.”
Snelling also gave his opinion on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s recent announcement to remove police officers from schools by ending the Department’s $10.3 million contract with the Chicago Police Department. The police service removal may take effect next fall.
“This is a decision made outside the Chicago Police Department,” Snelling said.
“But when it comes to the schools, when we have Safe Passage, our officers will be there. During school dismissal, our officers will be there; especially at schools where we know we had fights and acts of violence.
“We’re not offended because we were voted out of the schools. We’re just going to continue the work that we do and make sure these kids are safe.”
For the second time in two months, a City Council committee rejected a proposal where serious police misconduct cases would be handled during arbitration in closed-door meetings, rather than going before the Chicago Police Board.
Giving his opinion, Snelling said, “For me, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a police board or arbitration. I like transparency because you get to hear the entire story. But we [usually] don’t know the entire story, and that entire story needs to be told.”
