CHICAGO’s CRIME CRISIS ISN’T JUST ABOUT PERPS—IT’S ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY.

Chicago’s Crime Crisis Isn’t Just About Criminals — It’s About Accountabili

By Andy Shaw

  Let’s face it — Chicago is losing the war on street crime, even if a few statistics suggest a slight easing. 

  Because I’m not just talking about the number of carjackings, armed robberies, and smash-and-grab burglaries that fill newscasts and fuel fear in every neighborhood from Englewood to Edison Park. 

  I’m talking about something even more disturbing: The utter failure of the Chicago Police Department to catch the perpetrators.

  According to data compiled by the Illinois Policy Institute, the CPD’s clearance rate for many of these crimes is embarrassingly low and in some cases almost nonexistent.

  Carjackings? Less than 10% result in an arrest. Armed robberies? About 14%. Retail thefts, including the brazen, broad-daylight heists that shut down stores and empty shelves in seconds? Hardly any arrests.

  What that means, in real terms, is that if someone sticks a gun in your face and steals your car, there’s a 90% chance they’ll get away with it. If a group smashes through a storefront, loots the inventory, and vanishes into the night, the odds are overwhelming they’ll never be caught, let alone charged or convicted.

  This isn’t just a policing problem—it’s a civic crisis—because when a city fails to apprehend and prosecute the people who are terrorizing its residents and businesses, it sends a message that there are no consequences — that the rules don’t matter, and the system doesn’t work.

  And make no mistake: People are listening.

  Criminals are bolder because they know the odds are on their side. Businesses are shuttering because they can’t absorb another hit. Families are leaving because they don’t feel safe walking to the store, waiting for a bus, or letting their kids play outside.

  We’ve reached the point where the biggest deterrent to crime in Chicago isn’t law enforcement — it’s dumb luck.

  So how did we get here?

  Part of the problem is resources. CPD is down thousands of officers from its peak staffing levels, and morale is scraping bottom after years of high-profile scandals, consent decree constraints, and a revolving door of leadership. Detectives are overwhelmed, and officers are stretched thin. That’s not a recipe for effective policing.

  But the bigger issue — the one nobody in power seems eager to tackle — is accountability.

  Where’s the urgency from City Hall? Where’s the plan from the top brass at CPD to turn these numbers around? Where is the transparency about what’s not working, and the courage to fix it?

  We’ve heard all the buzzwords: Community policing, data-driven strategies, strategic deployments. But for all the talk, the results haven’t changed. The crime keeps coming, and the arrests don’t. That’s unacceptable.

  If the city can spend hundreds of millions on police overtime, private law firms, and bloated bureaucracy, it can certainly invest in making sure criminals aren’t walking free a day after wreaking havoc. That means better training, smarter deployment, and yes, more detectives — not more PR spin.

  It also means embracing technology that works, like license plate readers, surveillance networks, and real-time data analysis — with strict guardrails to protect civil liberties, but with a clear mandate to actually catch the people committing the crimes.

 And maybe even more important is to rebuild the shattered trust between cops and citizens so witnesses and those with tips and leads share them with law enforcement, instead of claiming to have seen nothing and to know nothing. 

  And, of course, the city needs leaders who insist on results.

  We don’t just need a safer Chicago. We need a city where lawlessness isn’t tolerated, where victims are more than an afterthought, and where the badge still means something.

  Until then, we’re stuck in a dangerous limbo: A city where thugs act with impunity and the rest of us are left to watch, wonder, and hope we’re not next.  Chicago deserves better — and it’s time the people in charge started acting lik