As summer arrives, two sets of numbers may paint a picture of what lies ahead for Chicago’s downtown and North Side neighborhoods.
One set, the Chicago Police Department’s internal CompStat reports, shows that major crime incidents in those areas are at the highest level in years.
The other set, from the Chicago Office of Inspector General, shows that every police district in the area is at their lowest staffing levels since at least August 2017.
Bottom line: From 31st Street to the northern city limits and from Lake Michigan to the Chicago River, crime is way up and police resources are way down. We’ll let the numbers speak for themselves.
First, here’s how district staffing levels have changed since 2017 and since David Brown became superintendent of the police department in April 2020.
Now, here are the latest year-to-date crime comparisons for major crime categories in those districts through May 15. These images are taken directly from CPD’s district-level CompStat reports.
Notes: Carjackings are included in the robbery category. “Motor vehicle thefts” are vehicles taken without force, such as through the use of forged keys or stolen while left running and unattended. Sometimes, murders have increased compared to previous years, but the change shows as 0% due to zero being the denominator.
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