To increase the police presence, the zones are kept small, about five or six square blocks on average. Each is divided into several "boxes" of about one or two square blocks each. A single squad car patrols each box.



The result of so many officers flooding into these zones is that many of them report having little to do during their eight- or nine-hour shifts, which typically begin in the early evening, according to a front-page Tribune story about the overtime program in 2013. During an interview with a Tribune reporter for that story, one officer dubbed the initiative "special enjoyment," a satirical nod to the term "special employment" that the department has used for its off-and-on overtime efforts over the years.



The violence reduction initiative has been criticized by some aldermen who think it's been too costly. The Police Department has spent about $100 million on overtime for its officers each year since 2013, in part because of the initiative.



The decision to revamp the initiative comes at a time when Chicago is experiencing some of its worst violence in two decades.



For the first five months of this year, Chicago recorded 243 homicides, the most fatalities since 248 people were slain during the same period in 1999, a Tribune analysis of department statistics found. By the end of 1999, homicides totaled 643 that year.