CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The hot and muggy weather didn’t stop the Chicago Police Department from getting out into the community.
During a Monday morning press conference, Deputy Chief Angel Novalez reported CPD held roughly 1,320 community outreach efforts in August.
“The Chicago Police Department created 48 senior engagements letting our seniors know that they're not forgotten, 40 business engagements to support businesses, 55 faith-based engagements to show support for those who enrich our moral compass, 47 engagements to positively impact domestic violence and 46 charitable opportunities,” said Novalez.
One event of note: the department held a back-to-school backpack giveaway through a partnership with the 10th District to help kids be prepared to head back to the classroom.
CPD Supt. David Brown told reporters the efforts come amid the most challenging policing environment the department has seen for quite some time.
“It’s becoming increasingly more challenging and complex given not only the level of violence, COVID-19 as well as the social justice movement, but [also] our department's grief of Ella French,” said Brown. “And what we now have is a vaccine mandate where we're encouraging our officers to become more aware of the vaccine so that they will feel more comfortable taking the vaccine and moving forward with creating a safe work environment for all of us, including in the community.”
With a focus on crime reduction, this month’s community outreach efforts also included 147 youth engagements to keep kids out of areas where they may be courted into gangs.
Related
