Watch CBS News

Overall Major Crime In Chicago Continues To Fall

By John Dodge

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Is Chicago a safer place than in recent years?

In some areas, Chicago Police have made tremendous strides in reducing so called "major crimes."

But a deeper look at the numbers shows there is much work to be done to keep Chicagoans safe.

In the first nine months, there have been 42,609 so-called "major crimes" reported in Chicago, marking a continued decline in overall violent criminal behavior.

Compared with the similar nine-month period in 2013, crime has fallen 14 percent, according to recent statistics released by the Chicago Police Department.

Compared with 2011 (64,010 reported incidents), major crime--which includes murder, sexual assault, aggravated battery, burglary, theft and auto theft--has been slashed by one-third.

However, the statistics show that the number of reported rapes (1,093) and aggravated battery (4,928) incidents are statistically the same compared with last year. That means that violent crimes that affect more people (compared with murder, for example) haven't fallen at all.

So far in 2014, robberies, auto thefts and burglaries have seen drops of 20 percent or more compared with last year.

The last full week of September saw 10 murders, slowing the decline in violent deaths across the city.

Crime Statistics

(Click on the image to enlarge)

So far, there have been 295 reported murders, compared with 314 in 2013 and 397 in 2012.

The number of shootings, which are not included in the major crime list, are up 5 percent compared with the similar period in 2013.

The numbers account for the number of reported incidents through Sept. 28.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.