CHICAGO -- The 21st District Police Station on East 29th Street will close after more than 50 years, one of many big changes happening as the Chicago Police Department consolidates.
In addition to the 21st District closing, so is the 19th District at Belmont and Western, which is moving into the new facility at Addison and Halsted. The 13th district will close in the fall. Overall-- the city will no longer have five areas—there will only be three; North, Central and South.
Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy says more than 100 officers will be re-assigned to beat patrol. "It's not the buildings that protect the public, it's the officers and by having more officers in those areas I think we're going to have a better delivery of services."
McCarthy also says the plan will save the city an estimated 10-12 million dollars annually. "This is critical to setting up the department in a fashion that makes it the most efficient crime fighting machine that we can have, eliminating layers, putting more officers on the street, it's long term solutions that we're looking for, not short term."
"Clearly this is the city of Chicago balancing the budget at the expense of public safety." Fraternal Order of Police President Mike Shields says the consolidation plan is bad for officers and bad for the citizens-- especially when it comes to response time-- "Police cars are going to be sent from Addison and Halsted to Lawrence and Western, there's going to take a toll on response time."
Not so according to Superintendent McCarthy, "The officers don't respond from the station house like for instance firemen do."
Shields is also concerned about the two detective divisions closing at Grand and Central and Harrison and Kedzie. "There are walk in witnesses that are familiar with detectives, it's just not going to happen and it's going to take it's toll on investigations," he says.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
