By Fran Spielman
Chicago Sun-Times
Acting Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said Tuesday he may follow Philadelphia’s lead when it comes to the text-messaging, shoplifting “flash mobs” now terrorizing the Michigan Avenue shopping district.
After eight days on the job, McCarthy has his hands full redeploying police resources to combat the traditional summer crime surge.
But he’s also following through on a promise to “sweat the small stuff” - by cracking down on quality-of-life complaints that tear down neighborhoods and frighten residents and businesses.
Juvenile flash mobs fall into that category.
They get their marching orders and lists of items to steal via text message, swoop into stores on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile in groups, then grab as much loot as they can before scattering to the winds.
“It’s very important because it’s a disorder. It goes along with the quality-of-life stuff, and we can’t tolerate that stuff. So we’ll be on it. We’re not gonna let it go,” McCarthy said Tuesday after joining Mayor Rahm Emanuel at the Gresham Police District to announce plans to redeploy 500 officers to high-crime districts.
“Philadelphia has a great plan on it that I’m looking at right now, actually. It has to do with having the resources deployed and breaking them [up] immediately before they get too far and monitoring some of the social media that they use.”
In Philadelphia, Mayor Michael Nutter and Police Chief Charles Ramsey, a former Chicago Police deputy superintendent, have taken an aggressive public stand against flash mobs after several high-profile incidents. They’ve even gone so far as to stop juveniles at their own game by using Twitter to warn them to stay away.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported last week that shoplifting arrests of juveniles have jumped in the police district that includes Michigan Avenue - even as retail theft arrests as a whole have fallen slightly.
Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) described it as a “new brand of retail theft” that’s highly coordinated by adult criminals who recruit juveniles to do their dirty work.
Copyright 2011 Sun-Times Media, LLC