(UnitedVoice.com) – Residents of Chicago Ward 48 used to receive violent crime alerts from their alderwoman, Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth. She recently decided to stop automatically sending the alerts. She’s now defending her decision.
In May, Manaa-Hoppenworth announced she was only going to send crime alerts to business owners and residents who “opt-in” to receive them. Those who have signed up for her email list will still receive automatic alerts about imminent crime threats if there’s an active shooter, bomb threat, or other serious issues. She has more than 6,864 people signed up to her email list. Over 1,000 of them have subscribed to receive regular crime alerts.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Manaa-Hoppenworth made the change because she received “feedback from [the community’s] neighbors and commitment to [their] values of empowerment, anti-racism, and community.” She also claimed that she did a lot of research to make the decision. For instance, she said that “over-reporting of crime leads to an inaccurate public perception about crime rates.” That, she claimed, impacts marginalized groups.
Manaa-Hoppenworth refused to apologize for the change. She argued that her ward doesn’t need to know every time someone fires a gun because that doesn’t do anything to help them feel more secure. She went on to say that people told her that by stopping her on the street and reaching out to her office, telling her that the alerts didn’t help them in any way. She asked what the residents were supposed to do with the information after receiving the alerts.
The alderwoman did agree that residents should stay informed about what’s happening in the city. However, she argued that they could find that information by visiting the website of the Chicago Police Department.
The decision baffled some who pointed to the rising crime rates in her district. Sexual assaults, robberies, shootings, and other crimes are all up. The shootings hit the highest level in nine years.
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