DAVENPORT, Iowa — In the last year, gun violence has gotten worse in Davenport and surrounding communities, according to community leaders.
Gun violence statistics
From 2019 to 2020 in Davenport, confirmed shots fired reports are up 46% and non-fatal shootings are up 63%. To date there have been 240 shots fired calls in 2020 and 39 non-fatal shootings. according to Davenport Police Chief Paul Sikorski.
Chief Sikorski reported that of 10 homicides to date in 2020, seven have been gun-related.
The two most recent gun-related homicides both happened on October 25: a 29-year-old mother of five was gunned down at Chuck E. Cheese and a 19-year-old man was found shot dead in a vehicle.
“This is a real issue that has been impacting our community for years,” said Chief Sikorski.
Chief Sikorski said most of these incidents were targeted and not random.
“The majority of them have been perpetrated by members of hybrid gangs that often use street justice as a way of dealing with issues,” he said.
How police are combating the issue
To help curb the issue, Chief Sikorski said the department started a new gun investigation unit in 2019. So far in 2020, the unit has conducted 85 search warrants, recovered 34 firearms and filed 28 federal indictments, with more pending.
The city has adopted the NIBIN (National Integrated Ballistic Information Network) system, which links shell casings to firearms and provides leads to gun investigations.
Since 2018, Chief Sikorski said the department has introduced 597 shell casings Quad City wide; 80%-90% of those have generated leads to investigations.
DPD has focused more resources on patrol and investigative units with gun violence as a priority. Seized 266 firearms and 269 charges for gun violence just this year.
"We can't arrest our way out of this"
Future plans and how you can help
On Monday, November 2 the department found out they were approved for a nearly $700,000 grant that they can use to create a crime analysis division. It’s the “Strategies for Policing Innovations” through the Department of Justice.
Since they rely heavily on forensics and video footage, Chief Sikorski also asked for the community’s help. They’re launching a security camera registration system. This is a voluntary record for residents to register any security cameras they have set up.
- Find the registration form here
The form asks for your name and phone number, so police can contact you. It also asks for details on camera location, the type of camera/s you have set up, retrieval capabilities and how long your footage lasts.
If a crime happens where your camera is set up, the police department can reach out to you and set up a time to review the footage your camera caught.
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Gun violence is a topic that Davenport community leaders have been chipping away at for years.
In 2018, Mayor Frank Klipsch started holding summits to curb violence. One idea was to develop a community outreach program and combat issues that young people in the next generation are facing.
Across the River, in Rock Island, community leaders started looking at how to curb violence in their own city. This stemmed after a deadly shooting in the District in August.