A Chicago teen is facing criminal charges after stealing a Kia at gunpoint and taking it on a joyride. The vehicle eventually crashed into a police car and spun out into a parked car. The three teens inside the vehicle took off in different directions, but police were able to apprehend each of them. One of them had a gun. The victim was a 16-year-old girl. The suspect has been charged with armed robbery and criminal trespass to a vehicle. Both officers injured in the crash are expected to make a full recovery.
This particular teen will be charged as an adult. Charging documents have already taken off many of the worst allegations that can be made. The law likes to give 17-year-olds a chance to rehabilitate their lives. Unfortunately, prison is not the place for that. However, when it comes to 17-year-olds who commit violent crimes, most jurisdictions will pursue adult charges.
However, Chicago is once again in a swing toward “tough on crime” politics as news of crime draws criticism from the public.
Why are We Suddenly Getting “Tough on Crime”?
The pandemic created several pressures from which we have not fully emerged. One of them was an uptick in crime in urban areas. Almost all urban areas were impacted statistically over this period, but it is politically convenient to blame the policy of a party. In this case, it is Chicago, so a Democratic mayor went under the bus for the uptick in crime. Is this fair? Probably not. Will it make a difference? Probably not.
With longer sentences, you do not end up with commensurate decreases in crime statistically. What works instead is a larger police presence that is just “there” but standing back. This worked in New York under Bloomberg even though the stop-and-frisk policy proved unconstitutional. The mere presence of police within eyeshot resulted in a commensurate reduction in crime.
Therefore, it would stand to reason that any efforts to reduce crime would not increase penalties but increase police presence.
How Do You Increase Police Presence While Defunding the Police?
Well, that is the issue. “Defunding the police” is not a particularly helpful slogan because it sounds like you want to get rid of police officers. In actual fact, the rhetoric is not quite so aggressive. These folks are proponents of diversifying police services to improve outcomes related to mental health intervention.
So, the positive efforts get buried under the slogan, which no one can see past. What will likely work is having a team trained for mental health intervention. Asking one person to fulfill all these roles is too much.
Talk to a Chicago Criminal Defense Attorney Today
David Freidberg represents the rights of Chicago residents who have been charged with criminal offenses in Cook County. Call today at (312) 560-7100, and we can begin preparing your defense immediately.