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Newly sworn Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy marked his 100th day on the job last month. He took the occasion to talk to the Chicago Tribune about his success. To make his point, McCarthy went with the numbers. "Shootings: down 75 through today. That's 1,516 last year and 1,441 this year. Murder: down 30 through today, from 290 to 260," the new boss told reporters.
When asked how much he thinks his new strategies have contributed to the progress since he took over from the embattled Jody Weis, McCarthy responded confidently.
"I'd have to say it's 90 percent," he said.
McCarthy's boss, former chief of staff for Barrack Obama and newly elected Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, promised on the campaign trail that he would put 1,000 more officers out on patrol.
So far, McCarthy has moved 750 cops to patrol from desk jobs. He's also disbanded citywide units like the Mobile Strike Force and Targeted Response Unit. McCarthy says he thinks he can free up another 125 cops for patrol work by hiring civilians to take over administrative jobs.
The Chicago Transit Authority has also recently agreed to pay for a new class of 50 recruits who will patrol trains and buses when they graduate next year.
"We're getting closer to that 1,000 number the mayor wanted, but I am still not satisfied we have everybody out there we need," McCarthy said.
Over the last several years a hiring slowdown has left the department more than 2,300 officers. As a result, McCarthy is shifting officers from specialized units back to patrol.
McCarthy says he's using "a tool box of tried and true methods" that he found effective as head of crime strategy for the New York Police Department and later as head of the Newark Police Department.
McCarthy's big on CompStat meetings where commanders are grilled about crime in their districts. The idea behind CompStat, developed in the 1990s in New York, is to hold commanders accountable.
"We have not removed anyone from district command, but some guys and gals have been embarrassed," McCarthy said. "You don't really want to embarrass somebody, but you want to push them."
McCarthy has also eliminated several layers of the command structure at the top.
He said he would have to replace at least seven district commanders over the next few months because of retirements and promotions.
Perhaps the most revolutionary change McCarthy is going forward with has to do with how commanders get chosen. For the first time in Chicago, he will ask district commanders and other top supervisors to vote on the lieutenants and captains they believe would make good district commanders.
But McCarthy's first 100 days have not been without controversy.
Last June, he told parishioners at St. Sabina Church, a mostly African-American congregation on the South Side, that federal gun laws promoted by the National Rifle Association amount to "government-sponsored racism" because they help channel weapons into inner-city areas where they are used to kill "black and brown children."
Gun-rights advocates pounced on McCarthy, calling his comments "nutty" and blasting him as a "political hack."
But in an interview, McCarthy defended his comments.
"It doesn't mean I think the government is racist or the gun laws are racist but the disparate impact of illegal firearms on the African-American community is overwhelming. The number one cause of death among young African Americans is gunshot."
Another highlight of McCarthy's first 100 days in office was his focus on stopping mobile groups of teenagers who were robbing and beating people in the downtown area and shoplifting from stores.
McCarthy beefed up undercover patrols and assigned additional cops to CTA train platforms to watch for unruly groups of youths.
"We were on top of it and made the arrests," he said. "It's not an epidemic in Chicago. We got it under control."
McCarthy said the job of police superintendent is harder than he imagined it would be. So far, there have been only four days out of 100 when he did nothing work-related, he said.
However he did get a chance to watch a New York Yankees/White Sox game with White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. As for the job itself, McCarthy sounds energized.
"We're just getting started," McCarthy told Tribune reporters.
"I've never worked harder, but I've never been more satisfied with what I'm doing." Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites        
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