With several events taking place on New Year’s Eve in the city this weekend, Chicago police say there will be an “adequate number of officers” to ensure celebrations are safe.
The Chicago Police Department will ramp up security, sending more officers to patrol the streets and work large celebrations downtown, including fireworks displays at Navy Pier and on the Chicago River.
Chicago Police Deputy Chief Jon Hein didn’t specify the number of additional officers to be deployed throughout the city, but told reporters during a news conference Friday there will be “enough” to handle the many events such as fireworks, concerts, events in entertainment districts, protests and the Bears game.
“With all the activities going on in the downtown area, we’re going to have the adequate number of officers to ensure safety, not only downtown, but throughout the neighborhoods,” Hein said.
Last year, 1,300 extra officers were deployed across the city, many focusing on downtown festivities and the fireworks display at Navy Pier.
The city also will have “violence interrupters” on duty across the city to quell any public disturbances, “especially including our youth,” Hein said, referring to incidents over the summer when huge crowds of teens took over downtown streets, resulting in property damage and sometimes injuries.
“We encourage our youth to enjoy the downtown area, but to do so responsibly,” Hein said.
Public transportation officers will be stationed across the city’s transit systems and on CTA platforms, which will provide free rides between 10 p.m. Sunday and 4 a.m. Monday.
Some officers working New Year’s Eve will have a canceled day off — a controversial practice that the department has cut back on lately — but those officers were made aware of the cancellation ahead of time, police said.
Hein didn’t specifically mention gun violence, which has flared up during holidays across the city and suburbs in recent years. That includes mass shootings during celebrations for Juneteenth, Fourth of July and the last two Halloweens.
Last New Year’s weekend, seven people were killed and 28 others were wounded by gunfire in Chicago. Five shooting deaths occurred on New Year’s Day, including one that left three others wounded.
Hein, a member of the department’s Central Control Group and incident commander for the downtown New Year’s Eve celebrations, said CPD has spent sufficient time preparing its New Year’s Eve safety plan this year.
“We’ve hosted many large-scale events throughout the year, so this day is just another event we’re going to prepare for, address and deploy the resources accordingly, but there’s been many meetings and preparation for New Year’s Eve,” Hein said.
