Chicago’s murder total last year surged to levels not seen in a quarter-century, but embattled police Supt. David Brown has frequently noted a positive data point amid the spike in violence: His department “cleared” more murder cases in 2021 than in any other year in nearly two decades.
The statistic on cases cleared is usually among the list of figures Brown cites in public remarks, alongside record numbers of handguns seized by officers and rising arrest totals for carjackings.
