West Side police commander paying home visits to warn gangbangers

[hack89]

The commander of a West Side police district plans to knock on the doors of the most dangerous gangbangers to issue warnings to stop the violence.

The effort by Austin District Cmdr. Barbara West comes as Chicago police try to quell gang violence with both innovative ideas and more traditional methods such as paying hundreds of officers to work overtime on their days off.

The strategy is based on research by Andrew Papachristos, a sociology professor at Yale University who conducted a study on the West Side several years ago that showed that much of the violence involved a relatively small number of victims and offenders.

A computer analysis showed a little more than 400 people across the city — including about 25 in the Austin District — are the most at-risk from among more than 16,000 gang members. There can be many reasons for making the list, including lengthy arrest records, the serious nature of the offenses and whether they have been shooting victims themselves.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-chicago-police-heat-list-20130721,0,3279169.story

This is a smart idea.

[Eleanors38]

1. Confirms what people in this group have been saying for years:

Most homicides are committed by repeat-felons, often on repeat-felons, in limited urban geographic areas.

[Nay]

2. Yes, and it means we need to stop throwing to the ground every 20-something male who

happens to be randomly walking/driving down the street. Let's focus on the ones we know are trouble, and stop radicalizing innocent people.

[ForeignandDomestic]

3. Exactly!!

nt

[Hoyt]

5. Yet you guys think you have to carry a gun when you are not in these "limited urban areas."

Glad to see the police trying new approaches. Every little thing helps.

[Teamster Jeff]

4. It certainly can't hurt

She is trying something new which is good