What Did We Learn This Weekend?

If the trend holds, shootings this year as compared to last, will be down in the area of 50%. On its face, this is a good thing, but the numbers that came out of the weekend are still pretty bad - between 40 and 50 people shot.

But how was this accomplished? Anyone from the media want to answer? You've been printing it on and off for days leading up to the weekend. C'mon, we're just dumb coppers and we've been talking about it and pointing it out for years.

No, it wasn't ISP sending a few dozen troopers. Or County sending some sheriffs to patrol the south and west sides. Here's a clue - this quote from Frank Main:

• The Chicago Sun-Times reported earlier this year that the Police Department spent a record $116.1 million on overtime in 2015 — up 17.2 percent from the previous year — to mask a manpower shortage that has mushroomed under Mayor Rahm Emanuel, with police retirements outpacing hiring by 975 officers.

:::GASP!!!::: A manpower shortage? Why didn't somebody say something?

Here's what really happened:

• the brass rearranged tactical team days off (as usual);
• they put everyone in uniform;
• overnight shifts stayed an extra half-a-tour;
• the ran an operation taking 88 high level problems off the street letting others know there was something serious going on;
• anyone who was RDO was offered the chance to work one or both days off for time-and-one-half in their district, on their regular shift - not somewhere far from home

Were they 5,000 extra cops? Not even close. All told, the number of cops working a day off was probably between 1,200 to 1,500 or so, all watches, all shifts.

A huge number of house mice were manning cars. Were they lighting the world on fire? Not where we work. Were they jumping out on dope tips, chasing the pack, hiding in the bushes? Good lord, no. Were they a visible presence, deterring crime, manning cars that aren't usually up and making the numbers of coppers seem like they were suddenly reinforced? You bet they were. And what happens when they all go back inside this week and end up RDO again on Saturday/Sunday and the gangs don't feel like there's a street presence again? Go on.....guess.

Now which news outlet is going to have the balls to ask for the actual numbers of cops and the actual OT paid out this weekend? And who is going to point out to Rahm that if he had properly manned the Department while McCarthy was here instead of trying to do it on the cheap, there might be more than a few innocent lives saved?