'We can't arrest our way out of this' :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Mary Mitchell

'We can't arrest our way out of this'

Cops can't do it alone; it takes a village to put gangs in check

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BY MARY MITCHELL Sun-Times Columnist

You don't think of a police station as being welcoming. But the modern Gresham District police station at 78th and Halsted is probably as close as it gets to being a place where troubled citizens in Chatham can comfortably turn for support.

Gresham District Cmdr. Eddie Johnson is no stranger to Chatham.

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Mary Mitchell

As a patrolman, he worked in the area from 1988 to 1998.

At that time, there was "very little crime'' in Chatham, he recalls.

When he came back to the district in 2008 as the top brass, the community had undergone a "metamorphosis."

"I've seen the 6th District go from a district full of middle-class working black families to a lot of transients,'' Johnson noted.

"The obvious reason the crime kicked up is the prevalence of gangs,'' he said.

He wouldn't speculate on where these gangs came from.

"I don't know. I just know we have a severe gang problem. The gangs have really manifested themselves throughout the entire district.''

According to Johnson, overall crime is "trending down'' -- robbery, for example, is down 40 percent -- but the district is "snakebit'' because of a couple of high-profile crimes.

Two recent shootings in Cole Park, for instance, prompted Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th) to remove the park's basketball rims.

And the fatal shooting of a 20-month-old girl on the fringes of Chatham also has residents on edge.

When compared to the same time period last year, Chatham has experienced a 100 percent increase in homicides, from eight murders last year to 16 so far this year.

Johnson believes five of those homicides are gang-related.

"Quite a few homicides are committed by offenders and victims that have relationships with each other,'' he pointed out. "In situations like that there is very little, if anything, police can do.''

What police officers are doing is trying to interrupt the cycle of retaliation, which is why the Chicago Police Department's "Silence Kills'' campaign is so critical.

The campaign was conceived to thwart the "no snitch'' mentality that protects street criminals.

"When we know the homicide involved a gang, we can pretty much pinpoint the areas where the retaliation is going to come from. We try to address those issues by moving resources around,'' Johnson said.

Still, there is only so much police can do.

"One thing that is disturbing, especially in the black community, is I'll talk to these young men, and one of the questions I often ask them is, 'What is your relationship with your dad?' '' Johnson said.

"A lot of them say. 'I don't know my father' or 'I haven't talked to him in 15 years.' These young men are just lost. Absent positive role models, they get their role models out on the street.''

On Johnson's wish list are more resources, more "boots on the ground.''

But he also would like to see a lot more parental involvement in raising these young men.

"We can't arrest our way out of this situation,'' he said. "Morals and values don't just drop in these young men's heads. Some of them have no idea what the consequences of their actions will be until it is too late.''

Many offenders who end up in police custody share a common thread, Johnson said.

"A lot of them aren't educated at all, not going to school, no job, no nothing. They are just trying to get through today.''

Chatham always has been known as a solidly, middle-class African-American community where residents take great pride in their homes and neighborhood.

Many of these residents were the black professionals -- the lawyers, teachers and city employees who stayed in their community and served as positive role models for younger families.

The fact that the gang plague is now invading a community that has such a rich history of activism is appalling.

With the second-highest population of senior citizens of any neighborhood in the city, Chatham cannot be left alone to wage this new battle.

And, how can any black person justify getting offended when brazen whites say they don't want to live around blacks -- if black people themselves let thugs destroy a Chatham?

Ending the dominance of gangs is a matter of black pride.

via suntimes.com

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