Chicago police STOP dispatching officers to 'non-threatening' 911 calls in the midst of crime and budget crisis



New measures will allow officers to work on beats rather than filing paperwork, police superintendent says

Before, police responded to 70% of 911 calls in person; for other cities, average hovers around 30%

Chicago is experiencing spike in gun violence, with more than 40 homicides in 2013 and 500 in 2012

Victims of ‘non-threatening’ crimes such as burglaries, thefts, and simple assault in Chicago will no longer be visited by officers when they call 911.



Chicago police are now enforcing an austere new measure where officers are not dispatched to scenes where the offender has fled and where no one is in immediate danger.

The Windy City is in the middle of both a crime and budget crisis, with sprees of violence erupting, even as first responders are forced to drastically slash their budgets.



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Less is more: The Chicago Police Department is cutting officer responses to 911 calls for non-threatening crimes, like burglaries and vandalism

Home visits: Those with non-threatening 911 calls will be passed on to file reports with officers, essentially freeing up more officers for beat duty

Th e Chicago Tribune re ports that officers of the Chicago Police Department will no longer be dispatched to handle less dangerous crimes. The measures went into effect on Sunday.



Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said that this dramatic shift would free up as many as 200 officers from compiling paperwork to being out on a beat.



McCarthy also said that unnecessary 911 calls – including reporting dogs barking and parents complaining their kids won’t eat their vegetables – are putting an unnecessary drain on the system.



He said that as it stands, Chicago officers respond to around 70 percent of 911 calls, as opposed to around 30 percent for other cities.



He said at a recent press conference: ‘I don’t mean to be flippant here, because I’ve been the victim of a burglary at least three or four times. I’d rather have the officer on the street, where he can prevent the shooting.’

The news comes as Chicago faces a violent crime epidemic, with nearly 50 homicides and 170 shootings already this year, and had 506 murders in 2012.

Included in those numbers was 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton, a student and band majorette who was guilty of no crime.

New York City, which has a population roughly three times the size of the Midwestern city, had a 2012 murder rate of 414 people.

But Chicagoans aren’t happy about the new change. ‘I think that’s ridiculous,’ one residen t told CBS Chicago . ‘I think if there’s a burglary, they’ve got to come. It’s what we pay for. They have to c ome.’

Austere: Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy, pictured at a news conference yesterday, said that he is using difficult measures to keep the city's crime in check

Task force: The announcement comes as Chicago is fighting a gun war and is trying to get rifles and other assault weapons off of the Windy City's streets



Supt. McCarthy later said that his job wasn’t to make people feel better, it was making tough decisions for the greater good of the city.

For crimes like robberies, garage burglaries, and property damage, no cop will be dispatched unless the suspect is still on-scene and there is still a present danger for those around.

Otherwise, calls will be fielded by officers on light duty, who will then file a report.

