The Chicago Sun-Times recently came under fire for a series of errors in its Violence Tracker, which claimed that Chicago police officers had shot and killed 11 people this year, along with being involved in a police-related stabbing. However, Chicago Police Department records show that officers have not shot or stabbed anyone this year, with the only incident being a person cut by flying glass during an investigatory stop.
This misinformation is not limited to this year, as previous years in the Sun-Times’ homicide tracker also falsely attribute murders to CPD. The errors are likely due to data manipulation, as the person responsible for the design and development of the tracker left the paper two years ago. This is concerning because this misinformation can be picked up by other sources and incorporated into national databases tracking police-involved shootings.
Despite the Sun-Times’ errors, data from independent crime tracking site HeyJackass shows a significant decrease in police shootings by CPD officers in recent years. In 2021, officers shot 22 people, killing eight, but these numbers are much lower compared to previous years. In 2009, CPD officers shot 61 people, with numbers remaining high until around 2014 when they began to decrease.
It is important to note the discrepancies in the Sun-Times’ reporting and rely on accurate sources like HeyJackass for up-to-date information on police-involved shootings. The decrease in police shootings by CPD officers is a positive trend for the city, and it is essential to ensure accurate reporting to understand the full picture of violence in Chicago.
