Violence prevention activist says 'police have pulled back,' wants unity to combat Chicago crime

Chicago activist Tio Hardiman is preaching unity in the battle to overcome the city’s rising crime numbers after new data reveals violent crime episodes though October jumped to their second highest level over the last five years.

Of the 29,260 violent crimes reported over the last 12 months, Chicago Police Department statistics show aggravated assault cases spiked the most at 6.4% with Black residents being most under attack.

“We have to work together in an orchestrated way so we can reach everybody like a safety net where we can catch all these young men before they cross the line,” Hardiman told The Center Square. “My message is all about us working together, being unified so we can reach more of these high risk individuals.”

As the longtime executive director of Violence Interrupters, Hardiman argued there’s a reason at least some of the numbers are trending the way they are.

“I truly believe that the police have pulled back,” he said. “Based on all the criminal justice reform policies that are out here now, there's not a real orchestrated effort to help keep people safe, especially in the African American community. I know good policing can work, but at the same time in the Black community, policing has failed. It's like at night time, you don't see police anywhere other than if there's a car accident.”

And then, there’s the politics Hardiman insists has been just as damaging to the cause of preventing violence.

“A lot of the violence prevention funding has turned political,” he said. “If you're not on the right political side, you may not receive funding to help reduce the gun violence in Chicago or help reduce overall violence. We got to take politics out of policing. We got to take politics out of violence prevention services. That's where we are failing at. We have to stop the guys before they cross the line.”

Data shows Black individuals in the city are 5.4 times more likely to be the victim of an aggravated assault compared to white residents and that 80% of all such assaults over the last year took place on the South and West sides. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Austin neighborhood is home to the single most attacks.

“Obviously, the strategies are not working when it comes down to effective police strategies being implemented in the Black community,” Hardiman said. “A lot of the perpetrators of the violence, they know the chances of them being apprehended or convicted is like probably 70% in their favor.”

As the number of aggravated assault cases has spiraled, data shows the arrest rate for such cases remains at around just 1-in-6 cases.