Report: Police Overtime Strategy To Fight Violence Could Cost City $14 Million
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy's plan to cut gang violence and homicides could cost the city up to $14 million in overtime this summer.
As WBBM Newsradio's David Roe reports, the money is already accounted for in the department's budget. Emanuel told the Chicago Tribune that offering overtime work to officers on their days off is a familiar strategy that's been used in other years.
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But this time, he tells the newspaper, the overtime strategy being directed in a more targeted way in the face of a nearly 38 percent increase in the murder rate for the first six months of this year.
The mayor tells the Tribune that this time, the strategy is being used on a more extensive basis and, he says, the city is beginning to see results.
Mayor Emanuel and police Supt. Garry McCarthy announced plans to use the strategy last month.
Officers are able to work extra and longer shifts Thursday through Monday, and work on their days off. They report to the police facility at 6120 S. Racine Ave. in the Englewood neighborhood, and are assigned to different areas of the city as needed.
A police spokeswoman said last month the overtime will be paid through the entire summer, and the initiative is likely to hit the city's budget hard.
