Robberies Down 19 Percent Vs. Last Year, Police Say; Murders Down 15 Percent
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago police are touting a significant drop in robberies across the city over the past year.
City officials say robberies are down 19 percent over last year, and nearly half of the city's 22 police districts have reported their lowest number of robberies since 2000.
As of Thursday morning, there have been 9,458 robberies overall in Chicago this year, with less than a week left in the year, compared to 11,653 for all of 2017.
Police said the drop in robberies was due partly to a "targeted robbery suppression campaign centered around the holidays."
"CPD's proactive robbery enforcement teams are made up of plainclothes officers and have been focused on areas that have been historical hot spots for robberies. While significant progress has been made, CPD acknowledges that much more work remains to make neighborhoods safer," CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi stated in an email.
Murders also have dropped significantly from last year, down 15 percent over 2017. As of Thursday morning, there have been 555 murders, compared to 654 for all of 2017.
However, rapes have risen nearly 7 percent from last year, with 2,115 criminal sexual assaults as of Thursday morning, compared to 1,979 in all of 2017.
