The Chicago Police Department released end-of-year crime statistics on New Year’s Day, revealing shootings and murders were down over the past year despite increases in other crimes across the city. NBC 5’s Patrick Fazio reports.
The Chicago Police Department on Tuesday is expected to release a comprehensive report detailing year-end crime statistics for city of Chicago, with preliminary numbers showing a more than 20% increase of robberies from 2022 to 2023.
Citing initial data, 11,025 robberies were reported in 2023, compared to 8,965 in 2022, making for a 23% increase, CPD said. Robbery arrests were also up, CPD said, from 891 in 2022 compared to 1,075 in 2023.
Preliminary data reported by CPD also showed vehicle-related arrests -- which includes possession of a stolen vehicle and vehicular carjacking -- rose almost 19% throughout 2023. Carjackings in 2023 were down by 20%, CPD said, with 1,307 reported in 2023, compared to 1,649 in 2022.
Shooting incidents dropped across the city in 2023, with the number of gunshot victims down nearly 18%, according to CPD.
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Murders also dropped citywide. A total of 671 people were shot and killed in Chicago throughout 2023 compared to 709 people a year prior, marking a more than 12% decrease.
"In a city as big as Chicago, 12% is a lot of people," said Roseanna Ander with the University of Chicago Crime Lab. "That means families that are not grieving the loss of a loved one and the huge ripple effect that those homicides have. So I think it is a place to really celebrate, but not lose sight of the work still ahead.”
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The University of Chicago Crime Lab last week released its annual crime report, which found Black Chicagoans are 20 times more likely to become victims of crime than white Chicagoans.
"That gap has gotten smaller but it is still shockingly large," Ander said. "It shows progress is possible, but we still have a ways to go.”
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According to CPD, a comprehensive analysis with finalized numbers on crime in Chicago in 2023 was expected to be released Tuesday. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
