Chicago City Wire

Brandon Johnson, the mayor of Chicago, has said that incarceration is not the solution to addressing violence in the city. The statement was made on X.

"We cannot incarcerate our way out of violence... it is racist, it is immoral, it is unholy," said Johnson.

Chicago's crime and safety debate has shifted towards balancing law enforcement with community investments. In 2023, the city launched the People's Plan for Community Safety and in 2024 created a Mayor’s Office of Community Safety to coordinate agencies. According to the City of Chicago’s People’s Plan for Community Safety: Year One Report, nearly 80% of homicide victims in 2023 were Black, underscoring why the plan emphasizes mental health care, housing, youth programs, and victim services alongside policing.

According to the Chicago Police Department’s 2024 CompStat Year-End report, the city recorded 573 murders in 2024, down 8% from 2023, while overall crime complaints fell by 12%. Shooting incidents dropped by 7%, robberies declined by 17%, and motor vehicle thefts decreased by 25%, though aggravated batteries rose by 5%. These year-end figures indicate a general reduction in major crimes, reflecting improvements in public safety trends compared to the previous year.

A mid-2025 study of major U.S. cities found homicide rates were 17% lower than in 2024, robberies down by 20%, and carjackings were 24% lower. Nationally, jail populations in urban counties have declined slightly since 2022. This was reported by the Council on Criminal Justice and the Vera Institute of Justice.

Johnson was elected as the 57th mayor of Chicago in April 2023. He previously served as a Cook County Commissioner and was a public school teacher and Chicago Teachers Union organizer. A Democrat, his agenda emphasizes education, labor rights, mental health services, and addressing root causes of violence. He took office on May 15, 2023, prioritizing alternative crisis responses and community-based investments. This information is available from the Chicago Public Library’s official biography of the mayor.