Police Tout Decrease In Crime Compared With Last Year In July Report
CHICAGO (CBS) -- With just one full month left of summer, Chicago Police said Thursday that they are seeing some promising numbers in their monthly crime report.
Police said overall, crime is down 9 percent compared with the same seven-month period last year.
The percentage of murders, robberies, and burglaries are all down by double digits. Murders are down 11 percent, robberies 19 percent, and burglaries also 19 percent, police said.
Motor vehicle thefts are also down 6 percent.
Police credited the decrease in violent crime with their efforts to keep neighborhoods safe from violent gun offenders. Police to date this year have seized more than 5,300 guns – up 9 percent compared to the same period last year.
Police are on pace to seize more than 10,000 guns this year, which would surpass a historic year for gun seizures last year.
"Every member of our Department is dedicated to keeping our city safe, especially during the summer months," Supt. Eddie Johnson said in a news release. "The sustained progress in reducing violent crime continues to motivate our officers who are out patrolling our neighborhoods each day and night."
Citywide, the month of July has seen the lowest, or equal to lowest, number of burglaries and robberies since 2000. Five districts – Central (Loop/Near South Side), Wentworth (South Side), Grand Crossing (South Side), Chicago Lawn (Southwest Side), and Grand Central (West Side) have seen the lowest, or equal to lowest, number of shooting incidents for a month of July since 1999.
Eight districts – Central, Chicago Lawn, Shakespeare (Near Northwest Side), Jefferson Park (Far Northwest Side), Near North, Town Hall (North Lakefront), and Lincoln (North Lakefront) saw zero murders.
The number of shooting incidents for July 2019 is down nearly 17 percent compared with July 2018, police said.
