Retired Police Officer Concerned About the High Crime Rate in Chicago; Says it Takes a Village to Raise a Child

By Juanita Bratcher

For 31 years Johnny Acoff served as one of Chicago’s finest. He was a Chicago police officer on the beat…and he loved his job.

“The Chicago Police Department is the best thing that could have happened to me,” said Acoff. “I enjoyed my job.”

But like many other Chicago residents, Acoff is concerned about the violence and high crime rate in Chicago.

“The environment has changed tremendously,” he said, “it is no way near the norm. Young people need something to do because an idle mind is a Devil’s workshop. And while some people criticize the police department and say what they’re not doing, what the hell are they doing?

“My perspective goes back to the old saying, ‘It takes a village to raise a child.’  But we don’t have a village anymore; everyone is on their own. That’s not very good. Some things change but there are other things that don’t change. Human beings do not change as far as the norm is concerned. Biological things don’t change; it is the environment that changes. And the environment has changed tremendously. It is no way near the norm.’ ”

Acoff talked about when he was president of the Block Club on the street where he lives, which he described as “a good, strong block club.

“We had a good time working together for the good of our street and the neighborhood overall. However, now that many of the old ones have died and new neighbors are coming in, for some reason now it’s like the wild, wild, West. But when you have a strong block club, nobody can touch it because everyone knows what’s going on.

“One of the problems is that there are people buying up properties here and many times they can’t get money to keep them up. Home ownership has gone to Section 8. They’re not all bad (people) but those that are bad can damage your area.”

On the other hand, if there’re things going on in the neighborhood, if the community comes together “You can work it out,” said Acoff.

A political and community activist, Acoff serves as Vice President of the South Shore Garden Betterment Association which months ago stopped a pawn shop from setting up shop on East 95^th Street near Jeffery Blvd. The organization is also in the process of trying to shut down a liquor store in that same area.

“It is necessary to do what we’re doing,” said Acoff. “If we had not come together to stop the pawn shop from coming to our community, the pawn shop would now be operating there.”

On the day of the pawn shop hearing at City Hall, about 75 people in opposition to it setting up shop showed up for the hearing and voiced outrage over the plan.

Members of the South Shore Garden Betterment Association rented a bus to take opposition residents to the hearing.

“Many of the people in our organization work in the downtown area (where the hearing was held),” Acoff pointed out. “We must learn to use our power to our advantage. And certain things should be required through referendums. It is also important to vote. That way, you can have your say on things. There are some who are trying to stop voting through Voter ID laws.”

While a police officer, Acoff served as Acting Director of the Benjamin O. Davis Center, 91^st & Jeffery, where he oversaw many activities – sports, education and training.

“The kids loved being there at the center, and many of the volunteers were teachers. They had something to look forward to,” he acknowledged, noting that he enjoyed working with the kids in a positive environment.

Praising the work and efforts of Father Michael Pfleger, Acoff said, “I like Pfleger’s style. I wish there were more like him. We need a coalition of ministers to work towards that end in the community.

“In my 31 years with the Police Department, I learned a lot about people. And I know that a lot of the things that happen are within the system. It would be nice to have truant officers and parole officers that do their jobs well. Those people are very important. How many of our kids go outside and jump rope now? Playing outside can be dangerous. And we’re all responsible. We ‘re all to blame, including me.”

Acoff said when he came onto the job as a police officer people had more respect for police. But he noted that many times people didn’t know what was really going on. “Of course, now the media make people more aware of things, and they’re more in tuned to what’s going on than 20 years ago…and they rebel more.”

Juanita Bratcher is Publisher & CEO of CopyLine Magazine