What would Michael Carroll do to address crime in Uptown?

I was asked the following question by a representative of the Beacon Block Club via Twitter:

Q: What would you do about the shootings in Uptown (murder yesterday plus one shot today) if elected Alderman of the 46th Ward?

A: I would put an end to the violence that plagues Uptown by giving the Chicago Police Department the tools it needs to combat the criminals that call the 46th Ward home and who will continue until our publicly elected officials stand up and say, "enough is enough."

I have been a Chicago Police Officer for the last seven years, working primarily in our City's toughest neighborhoods. I have made over one thousand arrests in my career, broken up dozens of open air drug markets, and have removed countless guns off of our City streets. I know how to reduce crime and make our City streets safe because I have been doing just that for the last seven years. Moreover, I willingly serve our community, even when my own well being is at risk.

Just today, I watched as another one of my friends was wheeled away on a stretcher after he was murdered by a coward in broad day light. It was a long, terrible day and my eyes well up as I type this response to your question. But I do not shirk from my responsibilities. That risk I take when I go out and serve the residents of Chicago is one that I accept willingly and is a risk I would undertake any day of the week. I would undergo any hardship to ensure that the residents in our community live without fear of violence breaking out on the street, preventing the need to dodge bullets as they are fired between rival gangs. The people of the 46th Ward deserve better and it is something that I will deliver.

I will bring my unique background in public service to elected office, working to make our City and the 46th Ward a better place. No one in our Ward believes that shootings, gang violence, and narcotics sales are good for our community. Yet nothing is substantively done to put an end to those activities. Police resources are scarce because of budget cuts and misappropriated funding. Attrition within the Chicago Police Department greatly outweighs hiring and criminals have become accustom to lenient sentences to violent crimes. This is a travesty and is something that I will change to ensure that the safety and security of the residents and taxpayers of our community is paramount. The people of the 46th Ward deserve better and it is something I will deliver.