File #: 16-5229    Version: Name: CREATING A SOCIAL MEDIA GANG TASK FORCE
Type: Resolution Status: Approved
File created: 9/8/2016 In control: Law Enforcement Committee
On agenda: 9/14/2016 Final action: 10/26/2016
Title: PROPOSED RESOLUTION CREATING A SOCIAL MEDIA GANG TASK FORCE WHEREAS, the prevalence of social media and the internet have altered the way the world communicates and does business; and, WHEREAS,, violence in Cook County has devastated too many communities; and, WHEREAS,, social media plays a prominent role in facilitating violence; and, WHEREAS,, police across the region have expressed frustration at their inability to meaningfully reduce gun violence in Chicago and Cook County; and, WHEREAS,, studies undertaken and findings published by Columbia University Professor Desmond Patton have shown a connection between online threats and offline violent incidents in Chicago; and, WHEREAS,, homicide is the second leading cause of death for young people; and, WHEREAS,, 90 percent of teenagers use the internet regularly; and, WHEREAS,, there exist numerous, documented examples of individuals using social media for the purposes of selling drugs and the pursuit of other illegal activit...
Sponsors: LUIS ARROYO JR, JERRY BUTLER, JOHN P. DALEY, JOHN A. FRITCHEY, BRIDGET GAINER, JESÚS G. GARCÍA, GREGG GOSLIN, EDWARD M. MOODY, STANLEY MOORE, SEAN M. MORRISON, TONI PRECKWINKLE (President), TIMOTHY O. SCHNEIDER, PETER N. SILVESTRI, DEBORAH SIMS, RICHARD R. BOYKIN, ROBERT STEELE, LARRY SUFFREDIN, JEFFREY R. TOBOLSKI
title
PROPOSED RESOLUTION

CREATING A SOCIAL MEDIA GANG TASK FORCE

WHEREAS, the prevalence of social media and the internet have altered the way the world communicates and does business; and,

WHEREAS,, violence in Cook County has devastated too many communities; and,

WHEREAS,, social media plays a prominent role in facilitating violence; and,

WHEREAS,, police across the region have expressed frustration at their inability to meaningfully reduce gun violence in Chicago and Cook County; and,

WHEREAS,, studies undertaken and findings published by Columbia University Professor Desmond Patton have shown a connection between online threats and offline violent incidents in Chicago; and,

WHEREAS,, homicide is the second leading cause of death for young people; and,
WHEREAS,, 90 percent of teenagers use the internet regularly; and,
WHEREAS,, there exist numerous, documented examples of individuals using social media for the purposes of selling drugs and the pursuit of other illegal activities; and,
WHEREAS,, there exist numerous, documented examples of offline conflicts between individuals being escalated via online platforms; and,

WHEREAS,, it is the responsibility and civic duty of this Board of Commissioners and County government to use all of the resources at its disposal to investigate the root causes of violence and crime in Cook County and enact policies designed to reduce that violence and crime to the greatest extent possible;

NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners, that there be established a taskforce composed of the necessary parties to study interactions with the assistance of the Cook County Sheriff's Department on social media in order to better equip law enforcement to deal with the negative consequences; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, by the President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners that the Task Force created herein shall consist of eleven members, appointed in the following manne...

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