After a tumultuous year involving Chicago police, recently released numbers show overall crime in the city fell in 2015.
Chicago saw the fourth straight year of reductions in overall crime in 2015 as well as the lowest number of violent crime incidents since the 1960's, according to a report from Chicago police. Since 2011, overall crime in the city fell by more than 37 percent across the FBI’s major crime categories including homicide, rape, and robbery.
Compared to 2014, overall crime decreased by six percent, according to CPD’s report.
Despite the drop in overall crime, gun violence in 2015 rose, according to police. Murders and non-fatal shootings were both up by 11 percent from 2014. Police counted 468 murders in 2015, up from 416 total murders in 2014.
Chicago police will continue to focus on “the small subset of individuals involved in organized crime and gang activity,” according to the report. Since January of 2015, officers have seized more than 6,908 illegal guns, an average of one gun every hour and a half.
The community’s trust in Chicago police was shaken toward the end of 2015. The release of the video showing the 2014 police-involved shooting death of Laquan McDonald sparked nearly daily protests in the city. And most recently, the public was outraged after a Chicago police officer accidentally shot and killed Bettie Jones, a mother of five.
In 2016, police will implement changes to restore Chicago’s trust, according to the report. Some of those changes include continuous training to teach officers how to resolve conflicts using the least amount of force necessary, and the expanded use of of Tasers and police body cameras.
Total Murders
- 2011: 437
- 2012: 506
- 2013: 420
- 2014: 416
- 2015: 468
Total Shootings
- 2011: 2212
- 2012: 2451
- 2013: 1866
- 2014: 2083
- 2015: 2427
