Chicago cops and community pray for peaceful, safe summer

Chicago police leaders are engaging their community as part of efforts to prevent a feared rise in summertime crime.

The Police Department’s 18th District CAPS Office – that’s Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy – met with local faith leaders and other community members Friday evening for a "faith walk" to pray for a peaceful summer.

Despite some rainy weather, photos from the event show several dozen people gathering for the event at the start of Memorial Day weekend.

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"Thank you to all who came out on such a rainy night and joined us on our ‘Faith Walk,’" police tweeted after the event. "It was good to see everyone!"

There is usually a spike in crime in summer, but some experts believe this year could be worse than usual as cities wrestle with calls to reimagine policing and coronavirus restrictions are dropped.

As Fox News previously reported, John Roman, a senior fellow at the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center, wrote earlier this year that he expected this summer would be "abnormally violent."

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Fox News’ Stephanie Pagones contributed reporting.