One month ago, President Trump vowed to "send in the Feds" after Chicago's murder rate continued to track roughly in-line with 2016, the most violent year for the city in nearly two decades.
Crime and killings in Chicago have reached such epidemic proportions that I am sending in Federal help. 1714 shootings in Chicago this year!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 30, 2017
Alas, with the month of July now over, the 'Feds' don't seem to be helping.
With 77 people killed in July alone, murders are up 4% year-over-year despite the federal assistance. Moreover, those killed as the result of gun violence is up 9%.
Meanwhile, the month of July also recorded one of the city's most violent Fourth of July holidays in history, with more than 100 people shot over the four-day weekend. That's compared to 66 people shot over the holiday in 2016.
According to Chicago police, there have been 417 murders in the city so far this year on a total of 2,202 shootings.
Data Source: HeyJackAss!
As NBC points out, the soaring violence in 2017 comes despite the fact that 5,000 guns have been taken off the streets and gun arrests are up 30% YoY.
Chicago police reported last month that they have removed more than 5,000 guns this year off Chicago streets. The department has also rolled out several initiatives this year, including a high-tech ballistics van that was sent as part of the partnership with the ATF. That same partnership also sent 20 permanent ATF agents to the city, along with federal prosecutors, with the purpose of "prioritizing prosecutions to reduce gun violence, and working with our law enforcement partners to stop the lawlessness.”
"One of the things that I think people miss about this whole violence reduction is the fact that CPD - we’ve recovered over 5,000 guns this year, we’re up 30 percent in overall gun arrests - but the communities being affected, I don’t think they recognize the power that they have in the communities, their voices, to reduce this gun violence," Johnson said.
Not surprisingly, the majority of the violence remains concentrated in a few South and West side neighborhoods.
And, with 7 months of 2017 officially in the record books, here is how Chicago's 2017 murders are stacking up against recent years.
Of course, it's not just Chicago where violent crime is surging as the Midwestern neighbors of Milwaukee, St. Louis and Cleveland have also experienced a 68%, 18% and 33% increase in murders, respectively, compared to 2014.