In 2019, 47% of murders in Chicago had no arrest and in 2020, ABC news reported that FBI data showed that murders in Chicago spiked by more than 37% compared with the same period of 2019, and far outpaced the 14.8% average increase nationwide.

The Chicago Police Departments inability to solve many of these crimes, coupled with governments poor strategy to tackling crime, has bred mistrust within the communities. Civil rights activist Rev Jesse Jackson has previously cited racial prejudice against the majority African-American demographic as the reason for governments lack of focus on Chicago.

The story of Chicago is narrated in the 2021 Oscar nominated documentary Chicago: Americas Hidden War. In the documentary, social justice leader Dimas Salaberrios stirs our consciences by shedding light on the often-forgotten crime horror stories of Chicago. . Its time we take a stand, turning apathy into empathy to create real change he said.

The documentary is a call to action, encouraging viewers to enlist their help to support mentoring programs and after school funds.

Written by Akosua Dwomo-Fokuo, Premier Gospel Presenter

Chicago is well known for its high crime and violence rates which are believed to exceed the overall US average. Organised crime in the city dates back to the 1920s with major rises seen in the late 1960s.