City Council Progressive Caucus Wants Hearing On Crime Stats
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The City Council's Progressive Caucus has asked for a public hearing into allegations the Chicago Police Department has exaggerated a drop in crime.
Police Supt. Garry McCarthy has said, despite widely reported shootings in the city, the overall homicide rate is the lowest it has been in decades.
Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd), a member of the council's Progressive Caucus, wants a closer look at the numbers, and he and six members of the caucus have asked Ald. James Balcer (11th), who chairs the Public Safety Committee, to hold hearings into the city's crime statistics.
"We want to find what the public view is of crime classification, and reporting practices of the Chicago Police Department, because there's a lot of issues dealing with the integrity of what the public is being told," Fioretti said.
He pointed to a report from Inspector General Joseph Ferguson and an analysis by Chicago Magazine, both suggesting the city's crime rate has been understated.
An audit by the inspector general found police were undercounting aggravated assault and aggravated battery cases by 24 percent.
Fioretti said he wants to get to the bottom of the issue.