Chicago implenting some Detroit-like public safety..."policies".

**brizee** · February-11-13, 04:02 PM

I'm sure this will only be applied to certain neighborhoods.

I'm trying to escape the stupidity of Detroit/MI and one of my landing spots is getting ready to pull this mess?

Oh well, there's always Vegas/Philly/Baltimore.

**Richard** · February-12-13, 06:57 AM

Years ago AAA received a lawsuit why? A lady broke down on the side of the highway so AAA said a truck would be there in an hour even a trooper stopped and she told him that the truck would be there shortly,everybody assumed she was not in danger,10 minutes after the trooper left she was raped,that's why when you call AAA now the first thing they ask is if you are in a safe place.

A simple assault will not require a response,how many times have simple assaults risen to a more deadly assault later, only now with no documentation, and what is a simple assault anyways.

So now you can go punch somebody out and not worry about the police responding?

But anyways that is pretty much the case all over the country with cutbacks.

**Chicago48** · February-12-13, 07:33 AM

Originally Posted by brizee

I'm sure this will only be applied to certain neighborhoods.

I'm trying to escape the stupidity of Detroit/MI and one of my landing spots is getting ready to pull this mess?

Oh well, there's always Vegas/Philly/Baltimore.

This is nothing new it's been going on before the announcement. Unless the crime looks like a beating, a murder, shooting, the PD takes time getting to your house. We had a prowler in the building this summer and I called the police, it took one hour to get there. Why? Because it was low level emergency.

But rest assured, if it involves guns, murder, beating, child abuse, the police are super fast. They are also doing stop and frisk, although it's not announced.
If you live on the north side of Chicago or downtown, you're in safe zones. If you move to the south side where most of the impoverished people are, you're taking a chance. But honestly, overall, Chicago is a safe city when you take away gang activity.
The one thing that Philly has over Chicago, and which Chicago is sloowwwwly rolling out is cameras.
Oh yeh, it's more expensive to live here than Detroit.

**Honky Tonk** · February-12-13, 07:44 AM

Originally Posted by Chicago48

This is nothing new it's been going on before the announcement. Unless the crime looks like a beating, a murder, shooting, the PD takes time getting to your house. We had a prowler in the building this summer and I called the police, it took one hour to get there. Why? Because it was low level emergency.

But rest assured, if it involves guns, murder, beating, child abuse, the police are super fast. They are also doing stop and frisk, although it's not announced.
If you live on the north side of Chicago or downtown, you're in safe zones. If you move to the south side where most of the impoverished people are, you're taking a chance. But honestly, overall, Chicago is a safe city when you take away gang activity.
The one thing that Philly has over Chicago, and which Chicago is sloowwwwly rolling out is cameras.
Oh yeh, it's more expensive to live here than Detroit.

Sorry, but I consider a "prowler in the building" a crime waiting to happen and it requires immediate attention. A friend moved from Detroit to Chi-Town recently and says YES, it IS more expensive to live there. He also said stores, [[REAL stores like supremarkets and Home Depot), are within walking distance or near public transportation, [[which he also says is quite good compared to Detroit). He finds himself using his car less then when he lived in Motown.

**TexasT** · February-12-13, 10:53 AM

Originally Posted by Honky Tonk

Sorry, but I consider a "prowler in the building" a crime waiting to happen and it requires immediate attention. A friend moved from Detroit to Chi-Town recently and says YES, it IS more expensive to live there. He also said stores, [[REAL stores like supremarkets and Home Depot), are within walking distance or near public transportation, [[which he also says is quite good compared to Detroit). He finds himself using his car less then when he lived in Motown.

You don't need a car in Chicago. I'd say most of my friends didn't have one. I had to have one because I'm from Texas and couldn't shake the car mentality.

Big Box stores are within walking distance if you live in a specific neighborhood. Otherwise, no, you are driving or taking a taxi. It's easier/faster for me to get to Target now, living in Woodbridge, than it was when I was living in Chicago. But really, I didn't visit big box stores. I'd go to a CVS, like I do here in downtown Detroit. How the heck do you get bags and bags of stuff home from the store on the el? You don't - you just get a little bit here and there. So no big box store trips are necessary.

I also think "walking distance" is different here in Detroit. The distance between my house and U-Foods is about the same as the distance between my Wicker Park apartment and the closest Jewel-Osco, but I've never walked to U-Foods because it's so easy to just drive. Driving to Jewel took forever in Chicago, even just being a mile away. So I'd often just walk and people could claim its in "walking distance."

**Honky Tonk** · February-12-13, 11:37 AM

Originally Posted by TexasT

I also think "walking distance" is different here in Detroit."

Yes, It means from the house to the car.

**wolverine** · February-12-13, 01:53 PM

The hyperlink text is very true. Cops still responding to noise complaints and blocked bike lanes in a timely manner. I'm sure the "freed up cops" were responding to burglaries in the rough and tumble neighborhoods. That's the way districts work. It's not like cops will be shuffled citywide. The neighborhoods that hurt with crime will only hurt more until more cops are hired which the mayor isn't doing.

Maybe it would help if Chicago residents stop dialing 911 on minor issues like barking dogs or potholes and vandalism. There's city department to clean that stuff up that don't require a cop to show up. Also residents should go to the police station to report things like bike theft. That's what I did.

**SWMAP** · February-12-13, 02:40 PM

The Wall SZtreet Journal reports that SEVERAL cities manage their 911 calls similarly:
Since the adoption of the 911 system in the 1970s and 1980s, many major cities have similarly shifted their 911 response from officers on patrol to those in an office, said former Newark, N.J., Police Capt. Jon Shane, now a criminal-justice professor at John Jay College. He said police in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Detroit, Houston and Newark all respond to some portion of 911 calls simply by phone

**Wesley Mouch** · February-12-13, 07:57 PM

There are two issues here.

One: what is the best response to certain situations.

Two: how to best use the resources you have to meet those needs

Sound like Chicago is realizing that they are responding to some situations with more resources than necessary -- so they're being smart and trying to match response to need.

Its called efficiency. Its a new idea being used to increase results while minimizing costs. Its widely used in the private sector where ownership has a strong desire to minimize costs while increasing results. its just now being applied in the public sector, since revenues are down due to the economic crisis and costs are up due to years of work rules that have limited efforts to become 'efficient'.