Police Execute Hundreds of Warrants In "Operation Sunrise"

By aaroncynic in News on Sep 12, 2011 6:40PM

The Chicago Police gang enforcement unit executed a massive amount of backlogged warrants last week, the Tribune reports.

About 150 officers from the unit were given files on nearly 1,000 individuals in a sweep called “Operation Sunrise.” Officers managed to arrest 17 people wanted on felonies and 29 wanted on misdemeanors, representing 9 and 4 percent of total targets, respectively.

CPD estimates warrant arrests are down 10 percent compared to last year. In addition to bumping up the numbers of warrants cleared, Leo Schmitz, commander of the gang enforcement unit, said police are trying to send a message.

Schmitz told the Tribune “People with warrants are typically the people who are…going to repeat crimes, especially violent crimes.” A large swath of unexecuted warrants could have the potential to undermine police authority. “This sends a great message to the people who live there. We care. Let’s go get them. We want the people out of your neighborhood who are causing problems,” Schmitz said.