Chicago has a murder problem, Donald Trump wants to fix it and there are no quick solutions.

Violence is nothing new to Chicago but I wanted to see for myself what was behind the recent surge - and if a city that's endured decades of violence could welcome a new approach.

Last year alone 762 people were murdered - a grim reminder of the city's darkest days.

Chicago isn't America's killing capital. Per capita, many other states are above it.

But there are pockets of crime where a powder keg of problems is claiming a disproportionate number of lives - guns flooding in from Indiana, segregation and poverty.


I went to one of those neighbourhoods: Austin, in the West Side, sometimes described as the city's most deadly.

Image: Lavontay White was killed in the crossfire of a gun attack

A two-year-old boy called Lavontay White has just been shot dead, caught in the crossfire of an attack live streamed on social media.

The streets feel very tense. Everyone's talking about reprisals. Day and night, there's police on almost every corner.

Every 15 minutes or so, we see them pulling someone over. There are lines of police CCTV cameras attached to lamp posts with flashing blue lights.

As school finishes, wardens with high-vis jackets stand near schools. I ask what they're there for. "To make sure the kids don't get shot on their way home," I'm told.

Image: Clifton 'Boonie' McFowler, a former gang leader now working with the charity Build

I'm with Clifton 'Boonie' McFowler, a former gang leader now working with the charity Build to help provide educational opportunities for young people in the area.

I ask Boonie if Trump would be welcome here.

"Yes," he says enthusiastically, "I do. We're in a state of emergency. Our babies are dying."

He believes Trump has put Chicago's plight back in the spotlight and that his business experience could help bring new homes, schools or community centres to his area.

It desperately needs it. Everywhere you looks there are derelict houses. The only lights on belong to fast food places.

Image: Dorothy Holmes, mother of Ronnie Johnson, who was killed in a police shooting

But law and order is Trump's core message for the city for now. It's a political risk that could pay off, but many here fear it.

The President has ominously threatened to send in the feds if the murder rate doesn't decline.

Dorothy Holmes, the mother of Ronnie Johnson, who was killed in a police shooting, says the police are the "biggest gang" in Chicago.

Nathalie Moore, a South Side reporter, tells me she believes there are racial undertones to Trump's statements.

He's called for robust stop and frisk policing. But when I ask people what is the one thing that will make the difference, everyone says the same thing - jobs.