The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is now advising business owners in the city to install a special kind of glass shield to combat rising crime.
This comes after a recent string of burglaries in Wicker Park and Humboldt Park, leading to the CPD recommending businesses use ArmorPlast, a type of invisible shatterproof shield that is installed over existing glass, to protect themselves.
“The Offender breaks the front/side glass windows of said business by means of rock/brick/crowbar to gain entry,” police said in the alert. “If possible, use ArmorPlast, an unbreakable shield that fits over existing glass.”
Riot Glass, which produces ArmorPlast, was founded by Brad Campbell. He told CBS News that his product can help keep businesses safe from thieves.
“We want to keep the bad guys outside the building – and that’s what the product does,” Campbell said. “Our mission is to help prevent this and to stop this cycle, and Riot Glass is really the next evolution in product development specifically for smash-and-grab crimes.”
This comes as crime rates in Chicago have skyrocketed by 61 percent in the first three weeks of 2023 compared to the previous year, according to data from the CPD. Authorities received 4,844 crime reports, up from 3,013 in the same period last year.
“Usually, people fear their lives too. Like, I have seven kids,” Tamer Jaradat, and employee at Western Food & Grocery, told the local network. “If it takes me having to protect my life or my business, I’m going to do it.”
Outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot has since acknowledged the city’s rising crime during her speech last month at the African American Mayors Association Conference in Washington, D.C.
“As Democrats, if we do not speak the truth about violent crime in our cities, we will be the worse for it. I come to this conversation as a former federal prosecutor,” Lightfoot said. “I come to this as a former defense attorney, I am the sister of a returning resident. But I know that there are people in my city that are wreaking havoc every day and need to be off the streets. That’s reality.