Weis: Gang Activity Most Serious Threat

By Prescott Carlson in News on Nov 23, 2008 6:12PM

Yesterday Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis announced the department's new plan to crack down on gang activity in Chicago, which Weis calls the city's "most serious threat." 400 police officers are to be added to a new "Gang Enforcement Unit" which will target Chicago's most violent gang neighborhoods. The unit officers will be able to be deployed anywhere throughout the city instead of just being limited to their own districts. Weis thinks that having one central command of the entire gang-response unit is a "critical part of the restructuring."

“We don’t want our officers to be restricted when our criminals aren’t,’’ Weis said today after announcing the new program. “Now we move wherever they move.’’

The centralization will also lead to a more "efficient sharing of information" between officers investigating gang crimes, as well as being able to help "anticipate and prevent" them. [Trib, S-T, Photo by Pam Morgan]