Today, Mayor Rahm Emanuel commended the Chicago City Council for approving an ordinance that supports the establishment of the Chicago Youth Shooting Review, a multi-agency evaluation panel that will seek to develop targeted violence intervention and prevention strategies, while helping to direct available resources.

“Youth violence is an epidemic that continues to plague Chicago’s communities and destroy our families,” Mayor Emanuel said. “The Chicago Youth Shooting Review will allow us to develop more effective strategies to reduce shootings, and ultimately create healthier neighborhoods where young people can thrive.”

The Chicago Youth Shooting Review is a pilot project that establishes a fatal and non-fatal shooting review process that draws on both public health and criminal justice perspectives to gain a more substantive understanding of their causes and context. This process will help to identify patterns, gaps in key services, and effective strategies to prevent gun violence among school-age youth.

The Chicago Youth Shooting Review panel will examine shooting cases and identify patterns in the two pilot project police districts, District 4 and District 11, as identified in consultation with the Chicago Police Department based on crime incidents.   These districts  include all or parts community areas South Chicago, South Shore, Chatham, East Side, Little Village, Humboldt Park, West Town, Garfield Park, and Austin.  Eighteen public and charter high schools are located within the pilot boundaries.

Chicago Youth Shooting Review project partners include the City of Chicago Office of the Mayor, the Chicago Department of Family & Support Services, the Chicago Police Department, the Chicago Department of Public Health, Chicago Public Schools, the Cook County State's Attorney, the Chief Judge's Office and the Cook County President's Office. Chapin Hall will support the project at no cost to the City.

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