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| 44th Ward Alderman Tom “Tunocchio” Tunney in an artist’s rendering. |
It’s been a while since Lakeview Alderman Tom “Tunocchio” Tunney (44th) unleashed a whopper like this one.
In a newsletter to constituents Thursday, Tunney wrote:
At last night’s CAPS Beat 1923/1924/1925 meeting, 19th District Police shared updates on reported burglaries, robberies and thefts:
Beat 1923 Year to DateBurglaries are down 46.77%Robberies are down 19.5%Thefts are down 14.13%
Beat 1924 Year to DateBurglaries are down 41.28%Robberies are down 19.32%Thefts are down 2.41% Beat 1925 Year to DateBurglaries are up 20.69%Robberies are down 27.5%Thefts are up 9.57%
Sure looks good, right? That’s because the police department and the alderman are only telling you a small sliver of the story. The part that lets them say that “crime is down” by seemingly huge amounts.
There’s a problem with their narrative when you look beyond the information they’ve provided.
How is crime performing this year compared to two years ago—2015? Answer:
• Burglaries are up 8%
• Robberies are up 24%
• Thefts are down 6%
So…”crime is down” compared to a disastrous 2016. But crime is up compared to a more normal 2015. (P.S.—This year’s crime is also up compared to 2014.)
By the way, something else is DOWN compared to last year: the number of cops who work in our district. But you won’t hear the alderman pounding the table about that, demanding that the mayor deliver the cops that he promised two years ago. That would NOT be the Chicago Way.
