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Eddie Johnson speaks to the media after Mayor Rahm Emanuel, right, announced he was appointing Johnson as the interim superintendent of the Chicago Police Department at CPD Headquarters on March 28, 2016.(Photo: Teresa Crawford, AP)
CHICAGO — Murders in the nation's third-largest city are up about 72%, while shootings have surged more<span style="color: Red;">*</span>than 88% in the first three months of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>2016 compared with the same period<span style="color: Red;">*</span>last year, according to data released Friday by the Chicago Police Department.
Police said<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the disturbing rise in violence is driven by gangs and <span style="color: Red;">*</span>mostly contained to a handful of pockets on the city's South and West sides.
“While<span style="color: Red;">*</span>CPD will remain tireless in its efforts to hold criminals accountable for their actions, we all have a part to play in creating a safer Chicago,” newly appointed interim Superintendent Eddie<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Johnson said in a statement.<span style="color: Red;">*</span> “In the coming weeks and months, I plan on meeting with and listening to a range of Chicagoans — from activists and elected officials to ministers and parents — to find ways that we can come together to build mutual trust and lasting partnerships that will make our streets safer for everyone.”
The city has seen 141 murders this year, compared with 82 <span style="color: Red;">*</span>murders<span style="color: Red;">*</span>at the same point last year. Police reported 677 shootings this year compared with 359 at the same point last year.
The grim rise in violence comes after the Chicago Police Department reported 468 murders in 2015, a 12.5% increase from the year before. There were <span style="color: Red;">*</span>2,900 shootings in 2015, 13% more than the year before, according to Police Department records.
The rise in violence comes as the police department reported<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a decrease in investigative stops by cops on the streets during the first two months of the year.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The police department<span style="color: Red;">*</span>entered an agreement<span style="color: Red;">*</span>with the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>American Civil Liberties Union, which went into effect Jan. 1, to record contact cards for all street stops after the organization criticized the <span style="color: Red;">*</span>city's police for<span style="color: Red;">*</span>disproportionately targeting minorities for questioning and searches.
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Police complained that the new forms were too time-consuming to fill out. Officers were allowed to begin using more simplified forms at the beginning of March.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The department said <span style="color: Red;">*</span>gun arrests have increased significantly since the new forms were put in place.
Police noted that there has been some progress in slowing the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>pace of the rising violence.
In March, murders rose by 29%<span style="color: Red;">*</span>compared with increases of 75%<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in January and 126% in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>February.
Overall, the month of March saw 45 murders and 271 shooting incidents.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed Johnson<span style="color: Red;">*</span>as his new interim superintendent this week<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and hopes<span style="color: Red;">*</span>he can help stem the violence.
Johnson<span style="color: Red;">*</span>replaced John Escalante, who took over the department in December after Emanuel fired Superintendent Garry McCarthy.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>McCarthy was ousted in the aftermath of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the court-ordered release of dashcam video that showed a white police officer fatally shooting a black teen 16 times on a city street. The video of Laquan McDonald's death spurred weeks of protests in the city.
Johnson has had success fighting crime, the mayor's office says. As deputy chief of patrol in a huge swath of the city's South Side in 2013, Johnson's area of command saw a 32% drop in crime, according to the mayor's office.
"We have a challenge right now, specifically but not limited to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the South and West Sides," Emanuel said <span style="color: Red;">*</span>this week. "We have a level of shootings and gun violence that's unacceptable and must come to an end. It means we have to have a leadership and lead from the front and get not only our officers' morale level up<span style="color: Red;">*</span>but our violence level down."
Follow USA TODAY Chicago correspondent<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Aamer Madhani on Twitter:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>@AamerISmad
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