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Posted 6/13/11 9:11 a.m.
CHICAGO (WLS) - Crime in downtown Chicago has gotten so out of control, even Major League Baseball is taking precautions.
Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Pat Camden joined WLS Radio's Don Wade and Roma Monday where he said "it's a crying shame."
"Unfortunately, we have a situation downtown that has occured to Major League Baseball is warning their teams about downtown Chicago," Camden said.
LISTEN: FOP Spokesman Pat Camden joins Don Wade and Roma
MLB spokesman Pat Courtney told WLS Radio Monday afternoon it regularly issues reports to all of its clubs regarding news and events in city's that clubs are traveling to.
Courtney says MLB did issue an oral report to all clubs that made mention of the recent uptick in violence but would not call it a 'warning.' Courtney says the reports are issued on a routine basis and the report that discussed mob attacks around Chicago was not released as a special case. Courtney withheld saying when the report was released.
Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy told the Roe Conn Show with Richard Roeper Monday afternoon it's the first he's heard on the matter.
"Dan Mullin, who is the head of security for Major League Baseball happens to be a friend of mine. He's a former NYPD'er and I'm going to reach out to him and find out if that is in fact true and who's issuing it and if they are, why didn't they touch base with us," McCarthy said.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said over the weekend that they're putting another 150 cops on the street.
"These officers are coming from everywhere across the agency including my office and other administrative positions. I've publicly stated that the single most important thing that we could do is get cops on the street, put them in the hands of the commanders and hold the commanders accountable," McCarthy said.
However, Camden says that cops aren't really being added, they're just being reassigned.
"Well, yeah, he's putting 150 people on the street. He hasn't added anything to the manpower of the police department which has been, you know, really terribly neglected for the past three years. The hiring has been abysmal at best," Camden said.
While he didn't say how many officers the city should hire to make the city safer, Camden noted FOP President Michael Shield's estimation over the weekend that the Chicago Police Department is understaffed by approximately 2,000 officers.
There were no incidents of mob violence this weekend, thanks to the beefed up police presence.
"What they're doing now is proactive. This should have been done awhile back but they didn't have the manpower, and they've got more uniforms downtown. There's a higher visibility, you have undercover officers. You have decoys out there and they're arresting people," Camden said.
Emanuel says over 30 people have been arrested in the various mob attacks over the past week.
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