The Chicago police department will add nearly 1,000 new officers to the force over the next two years, Superintendent Eddie Johnson said during a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
Chicago’s police officials believe bulking up its law enforcement with new faces will lead to a decrease in shootings and homicides within the Windy City.
Starting in January 2017, the city will add 516 new officiers, 92 field-training officers, 200 detectives, 112 sergeants and 50 lieutenants to the force. The total number of sworn officers within the city’s jurisdiction will jump from 12,500 to 13,500.
“I’m confident that these added resources will make us better,” Johnson said. “We’ll train and mentor officers who make honest mistakes, but I will not tolerate intentional misconduct.”
Johnson said when he approach Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel about the plan, the mayor’s office “delivered.” Despite the news about Chicago’s plans to counter a tense environment between African-Americans and cops following the death of black teenager Laquan McDonald, Emanuel’s office has not explained how it intends to fund the hiring spree.
Chicago is already plagued with money problems and hiring 970 new officers will come with a multimillion-dollar price tag after pensions and benefits are factored in to the costs.
Emanuel has been paying $100 million in overtime costs annually. He said it was effective and less expensive than hiring more officers.
But Chicago’s homicide rate has increased in recent years. Over Labor Day weekend, Chicago hit 500 homicides, more in nine months than all of 2015. The police have recorded 2,500 shooting incidents thus far this year and expect the city to surpass the 2003 record of 600 homicides by year’s end.
