verb (used with object) 1. to make (something broken, worn, torn, or otherwise damaged) whole, sound, or usable by repairing: to mend old clothes; to mend a broken toy. 2. to remove or correct defects or errors in.
Today, the Chicago Police Department is doing something similar with gangs. Using a tool academics call ânetwork analysis,â the CPD is mapping the relationships among Chicagoâs 14,000 most active gang members. Itâs also ranking how likely those people are to be involved in a homicide, either as victims or offenders.
The early years of organized crime in Chicago, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, were marked by the division of various street gangs controlling the South Side and North Side, as well as the Black Hand organizations of Little Italy. Big Jim Colosimo centralized control in the early 20th century.