The extra police are available because some officers are being reassigned from administrative duty. Rookie officers are graduating from the police academy. And some arson detectives are going to street duty because Chicago has fewer arsons.
"The bottom line is that we'll have an additional 298 more police officers for street duty since last July," said Mayor Daley. "These aren't huge numbers, but every officer matters. These steps are forward-looking ideas that will both better protect taxpayers-- because we're better using existing recourses, as well as better protecting our neighborhoods."
The mayor said doing more for less is more important than ever, because Chicago and other governments face very tough economic times.
