Shootings Down Last Two Months: Police

Funny, it doesn't seem less violent

Funny, it doesn't seem less violent.

As the unseasonably cool summer winds down, Chicago police are saying that shootings are down across the city -- eyebrow-raising, since shootings were up through July.

Through July, the city's gunplay was up almost 7% year over year, with 927 shootings (60 more than in the first half of 2008). But two months later, shootings are down 4.5 percent at 1,335, or 31 fewer than in the first eight months of 2008, police told ChicagoBreakingNews.

The reasons, say police, include more federal overtime money, specialized units, and more boots on the ground. Officers have also had some success targeting gang-related crime.

"Communities have to say, we're not going to take this any more, and enough of it," said Deputy Superintendent Daniel Dugan to NPR.  "And once that happens, people start cooperating."

Police also report a 9.6 percent decrease in overall crime, and 9.2 percent decrease in homicides through August. There have bee 207 murders in the city, compared with 338 last year.

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