v

During a recent public forum with the Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling revealed the extent of the crisis. "What we're doing right now is making the best with the number of officers that we have," Snelling stated. He further disclosed, "We are down. We're down close to 2,000 officers."

According to a report by CBS 2, the police department, grappling with a deficit of nearly 2,000 officers, will initially draw from special units. "Units that normally supplement those officers now become the officers doing the patrolling," said Riccio, a senior police official.

The shortage of officers is a significant concern as Chicago prepares to welcome an estimated 50,000 attendees for the DNC in August. Riccio expressed his apprehension, stating, "It's going to take a lot of manpower, and there's no substitution for experience, and that's another thing a lot of the officers look they're great hard workers but there's no substitution for experience." He further highlighted that many of these officers are relatively inexperienced, particularly in handling incidents of the scale expected during the DNC.

The Chicago Police are already under immense pressure as they contend with rising crime rates and pro-Hamas protestors, who have vowed to stage mass protests during the DNC, potentially causing widespread disruption across the city.