Chicago leaders are optimistic after the homicide rate sees another significant drop in 2019.
The gun violence in Chicago has been a major issue in the city that politicians and community leaders have tried their hardest to curb over the years. Their efforts have led to another significant drop in homicides in 2019 for the third consecutive year, according to CNN. Chicago, which has the third-largest population in America, declined by 13% in comparison to 2018. 2019 recorded 490 murders and police documented 564 in 2018. In comparison to 2016, which recorded 756 -- the highest documented number of homicides in two decades at the time -- homicides have dropped by 35%.
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This marks another strong decline in homicides since 2016 which is when the city began to take major efforts to curb murders and gun violence in the city by hiring more police with an emphasis on community policing as well as providing further investments in social service resources and schools.
"I think that all of those things working together -- being on the ground, supporting vulnerable victims, supporting vulnerable communities -- led to the declines that we saw this year, and particularly over the course of the summer," Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.
In addition to homicides going down, the city also saw another significant decline in shootings in the city. Police recorded 2,139 shooting in 2019 which is a 9.6% decline from 2018 which counted 2,367 shooting. In addition, the Chicago Police Superintendent said that there's also been a decline in robberies by 17%.