Property Crimes In Chicago
Theft
Theft is very common in Chicago, with around 560 cases on average per 100K people every year. Be sure to always keep belongings secured and never leave anything unattended outside. Robberies are also a big problem in the city. If youre carrying cash, try to limit yourself to only what you need and dont display it unnecessarily.
Motor Vehicle Theft
Motor vehicle theft is an extremely prevalent crime in the most dangerous neighborhoods in Chicago. Per 100K people, roughly 12 cars are stolen daily. The crime is so common that the citys police force has a special unit. Even in the safer areas of Chicago, its recommended to always lock your doors and avoid leaving valuables in the vehicle.
Dont Look Like A Victim
While living in dangerous Chicago neighborhoods, ensure that you dont look like a victim. Studies have shown that attackers look for prey, meaning those who are unable to protect themselves. Victims often walk distracted, looking at their phones, with their shoulders hunched. This posture signals to an attacker that the person isnt confident in their surroundings, and, more importantly, that the person isnt paying attention.
Rather than looking at your phone while walking through a dangerous area, put your phone in a secure pocket and make eye contact with the people around you. If you feel like someone is looking at you, level your gaze and look back. This signals to a potential attacker that you are confident in yourself. Of course, it also helps if you know basic self-defense.
In Memory Of Chicagocrimeorg
Written by Adrian Holovaty on January 31, 2008
It’s with mixed feelings that I announce the end of one of my projects, chicagocrime.org. This site has been serving Chicago residents since May 2005. I hope you’ll indulge me in a brief retrospective.
Chicagocrime.org was one of the original map mashups, combining crime data from the Chicago Police Department with Google Maps. It offered a page and RSS feed for every city block in Chicago and a multitude of ways to browse crime data by type, by location type , by ZIP code, by street/address, by date, and even by an arbitrary route. The New York Times Magazine featured it in its 2005 “Year in Ideas” issue, and it won the 2005 Batten Award for Innovations in Journalism.
It’s been a fun ride. When I launched the site, Google Maps hadn’t yet released the mapping API that’s so common even passé? today. I can’t help but feel like an old-timer: “Back in my day, we had to reverse-engineer Google’s obfuscated JavaScript just to get maps embedded on our own sites!” Now it seems like every other Web site finds an excuse to use those familiar, bubbly, yellow-white-blue-pastel map tiles.
This story has a fitting epilogue. In just a few weeks after chicagocrime.org goes offline, the site will be featured in an exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, called Design and the Elastic Mind. Chicagocrime.org will have ended its life and become a museum piece.
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Chicago Violent Crime Rate
Interestingly, the number of violent crimes of all kinds increased from 2020 to 2021, while most types of property crime decreased. In this respect, Chicago crime statistics follow the same trends that weve been seeing across the country.
Data Source: Chicago Police Department 2021 annual report
The most common violent crime in Chicago is aggravated battery, with 8,369 reported cases in 2021. That means aggravated battery made up about one-third of the years violent crimes and one-tenth of all reported crimes. However, this charge had the smallest year-over-year increase out of any type of crime, while others like human trafficking, sexual assault, and aggravated assault increased more dramatically.
High Crime Areas Of Chicago
In any big city, its important to stay aware and make smart decisions, even in safer areas. However, there are also places with higher volumes of crime. When moving to a metropolis like Chicago, its a good idea to know the bad areas of Chicago with higher crime rates. With 77 neighborhoods in Chicago, it can feel overwhelming to narrow down safe options. Here are the top 10 most dangerous neighborhoods in Chicago:
- West Garfield Park: 257% more crime than the rest of Chicago
- Washington Park: 227% more crime than the rest of Chicago
- East Garfield Park: 206% more crime than the rest of Chicago
- Englewood: 201% more crime than the rest of Chicago
- North Lawndale: 198% more crime than the rest of Chicago
- Grand Crossing: 184% more crime than the rest of Chicago
- West Englewood: 176% more crime than the rest of Chicago
- Riverdale: 160% more crime than the rest of Chicago
- South Shore: 144% more crime than the rest of Chicago
- Chatham: 108% more crime than the rest of Chicago
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Map Of Chicago Murders
Mapping the murders provides a more nuanced view of where the biggest problems are or, more appropriately, where the oases are. There is a safer pocket southeast of the city and, generally the area north of North Avenue has fewer incidents as well as a strip along Interstate 55. In addition, the community areas just west of 90/94 arent too bad until you get to Pershing and then you have another oasis in Hyde Park.To really get a sense for all this youll want to take advantage of the interactive features of this map below. The icon in the upper right corner will blow it up to full screen and you can pan and zoom. Clicking on a balloon will show the key information from the database and you can also click on the colored community area to find out where you are looking.
Chicago Property Crime Rate
Property crime may have decreased in Chicago, but it still makes up the bulk of criminal offenses. Larceny/theft is the most common, with more than 40,000 reported incidents in 2021. Thats almost 70% of reported property crimes and nearly half of all reported crimes.
Data Source: Chicago Police Department 2021 annual report
Most categories of property crime decreased in 2021. The notable exception is motor vehicle theft, which actually increased by 6.2%. This trend has continued since then. According to the most recent reports from the CPD, motor vehicle theft is up nearly 70% compared to this time last yearand already more than last years total number of vehicle thefts.
Perhaps one contributing factor in Chicagos decrease in property crime during 2021 was the growth of remote work. With more people at home during the day, homes and personal property were more closely watched than in the past. As people return to the office, that positive change appears to be slipping away.
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Hazardous Weather And Natural Disasters In Chicago
Part of Chicagos skyline from across frozen Lake Michigan
Generally, Chicago is not prone to many natural disasters. In fact, Illinois is third on the list of states least likely to experience a natural disaster in the US, meaning little risk of hurricanes, droughts, earthquakes, or tsunamis.
However, you may have to worry about extreme temperatures, especially in the winter. Chicago winters can be bitterly cold, often going into negative temperatures.
The lowest temperature in recent years was -22 °F, on January 30, 2019. When its that cold, you need to have every extremity covered , or else you risk frostbite. According to a University of Illinois Chicago study, 94% of temperature-related deaths in Chicago are due to cold temperatures.
If youre visiting Chicago in the winter, then plan on doing mostly indoor activities and bringing plenty of appropriate clothing to stay warm.
Related Reading: If youre trying to decide when to come, then read our guide on the best time to visit Chicago!
Social Scientists Map Chicago
Social Scientists Map Chicago
Geographer Chauncy Harris often argued that Chicago in the first half of the 20th century was the most studied city in the world. This claim is unprovable, but there were certainly an enormous number of scholarly studies of Chicago between the 1920s and the middle of the 20th century. Many of these included maps.
This Web site provides links to a few of the social science maps of Chicago that are held as separate pieces by the University of Chicago Library’s Map Collection.
Included here are several products of the “Chicago School of Sociology” including the Social Base Map of Chicago a group of anonymous neighborhood maps several maps of land use or land value by Homer Hoyt and maps from books by Frederic Thayer on gangs, Walter Reckless on “vice,” and Clifford Shaw on crime. These maps were created during the 1920s and the 1930s, at more or less the same time as another Chicago School product, the Social Science Research Committee census maps. It is arguable that, at the moment of their creation, the Chicago School maps made up the most wide-ranging cartographic portrait of an urban area that had ever been compiled.
Also included are several of geographer Harold Mayer’s railroad maps anthropologist Sol Tax’s manuscript cartographic representation of blockbusting in the Hyde Park area and other maps as well.
The maps were scanned at 400 dpi and saved as tiff files.
You can access these files in two different ways:
–CW
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Chicago Murder Rate By Neighborhood
Sadly, some areas of the city are much more dangerous than others, as you well know, and everyone wants to know which are the best and worst. Therefore, I always roll up the data by neighborhood and then calculate the murder rate per 100,000 people to normalize for population differences. However, as Ive said in the past, some neighborhoods have way more people in them than the population indicates e.g. The Loop has a lot of workers there during the day that dont live there so their murder rate might be overstated.
The graph below sorts the neighborhoods by their murder rates. 11 of them had no murders in this time period but Bridgeport and Clearing are two of the more notable additions to this list compared to last year when they had significantly more murders. In addition, Hyde Park and Edison Park did not have any murders last year but you can see that they moved much higher up the list this year.
At the other end of the spectrum Ill first give my annual caveat about Fuller Park: their population is so low that it doesnt take much to move them a lot on the list. Other than that the two main points to note is that Englewood moved from 2nd worst neighborhood last year to 8th place this year. Wouldnt it be nice if that trend continued? And then Riverdale moved from 12th place last year to 4th place this year.
My own neighborhood, West Town, remained pretty much the same as last year.
Carry A Personal Alarm And Pepper Spray
If you live in a dangerous area, carrying a personal alarm and pepper spray can help bring peace of mind. A personal alarm is a small device that can be attached to a key chain. The device, when pressed, emits a loud siren that can scare away an attacker and alert everyone nearby of the situation. Personal alarms are one of the best ways to protect yourself because the alarm is easy to carry and conceal. The alarm is loud enough to startle an attacker and allow the victim enough time to make an escape. There are also personal alarm apps that can be downloaded onto your phone for convenient security.
Pepper spray is also an important tool to carry with you. Pepper spray comes in a small cylinder device. On the top of the pepper spray, there is a button-switch. When pressed, a chemical is streamlined out, reaching up to eight feet. The spray is meant to strike the attacker in the eyes, causing temporary blindness, eye irritation, face swelling, and extreme pain. The effects from the pepper spray can last from 20 minutes to 90 minutes, ensuring the victim time to escape.
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How To Stay Safe In Chicago
Although Chicago isnt necessarily a safe place to live, there are measures that residents can take to decrease the likelihood that they will experience crime while living in Chicago neighborhoods. Here are five ways to decrease your chances of experiencing crime while living in neighborhoods in Chicago.
Safest Neighborhoods In Chicago
Ranked the third largest city in the United States, Chicago is home to 2.7 million residents. This city is rich in history and a true melting pot. Theres something for everyone in Chicago, whether youre a sports fanatic, nature lover, foodie, or connoisseur of music and the arts. But, is Chicago a safe place to live? When you choose a large city, there may be high crime rates. However, like any city, there are safe parts and unsafe areas of Chicago.
Moving can feel overwhelming and if youre moving to a metropolis like Chicago, theres a lot to consider. With 77 Chicago neighborhoods to choose from, finding the area thats right for you might seem impossible. An easy way to narrow the options is safety, which is surely at the top of your list. This safe Chicago neighborhoods guide will help you and your family choose the best area so you can rest assured youve made a good decision.
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Chicagos Crime Rates: Violent Crimes
The rate of crime in Chicago is higher than in other nearby cities. It is also four times as high as the average murder rate for the whole country.
- Every year, about 21 people out of every 100,000 are shot. Every year, 21 people are killed per 100,000 people. So, be careful at night and always pay attention to whats going on around you.
- Every year, there are an average of 259 thefts for every 100,000 people. Its best to only carry enough cash for the day or maybe one or two days more, if necessary. Check your pockets every time you leave a place or go out. Lastly, be careful not to show your money when its not necessary.
- Every year, there are 566 assaults for every 100,000 people. So its always a good idea to take a taxi at night instead of walking around the streets alone.
- Every year, 67 rapes happen for every 100,000 people. So you shouldnt walk around by yourself. After dark, always try to take a taxi and never walk alone on the streets.
There are also a lot of crimes against property, with 4,122 each year. So, if you go out at night, you should be careful and always be aware of your surroundings. Also, when you travel, keep a close eye on your things at all times. Keep your things in plain sight to keep them safe. When you go to Chicago, put your valuables in a locker at the hotel or in a safety deposit box at a bank.
Source: Gifer
How Dangerous Is Chicago
Statistics say that the crime rate in Chicago in 2020 was 3,926 crimes per 100,000 people. Thats 67% more than the national average and a lot more than Illinoiss average rate of 1,985 crimes per 100,000 people. Part of the reason why Chicagos crime rates are talked about so much is that violent crimes like murder, sexual assault, and robberies are a bigger part of the citys high crime rate than property crimes like burglary, arson, or car theft.
In Chicago, there is a 1 in 103 chance that you will be hurt by a violent crime. Thats twice as likely as the average in Illinois, but its important to remember that just because you live in Chicago doesnt mean youre in more danger. Your risk of violence can be affected by things like your social class, your neighborhood, and the people you know.
You have a 1 in 39 chance of being a victim of a property crime, in Chicago. Even though Chicagos rate of property crime is only 52% higher than the national average , property crimes are more common everywhere.
In Chicago, there is a 1 in 273 chance that your car will be stolen. This type of property crime happens a lot in Chicago, but not as much as it does in other cities. Richmond, California, is at the top of the list of cities with a lot of car thefts. Albuquerque and Oakland are close behind. Chicago is not one of the top 20 cities. Thats good news for the price you pay for car insurance.
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Most Dangerous Chicago Neighborhoods
So, where in Chicago should you use more caution? Here are the Chicago neighborhoods with the most crime, according to AreaVibes:
These numbers dont exactly sync up with the Chicago crime rate reports from the CPD, but the list is still a good indicator of which areas might require stronger personal and home security. Of note? Washington Park is a lot less safe once youre off the University of Chicago campus.
Most Dangerous Parts Of Chicago: How To Stay Safe In A Red Zone 2022
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Posted February 2, 2022 byCove
Chicago is well known for its crime no one has tried to argue that Chicago is a safe place to live. In fact, Chicago is one of NeighborhoodScouts’top 100 most dangerous cities in the United States . However, not every part of Chicago is as dangerous as the numbers may claim. Some parts of Chicago are relatively safe, such as Printers Row.
However, some areas in Chicago are incredibly dangerous. The most dangerous neighborhood in Chicago has a violent crime rate that is 943 percent higher than the national average, making it a severely dangerous neighborhood to live in. That being said, how can a person stay safe while living in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Chicago? And what are the most dangerous neighborhoods in Chicago?
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