What is Happening in Chicago?

The number of murders in Chicago from a year ago have increased 38%.  As of June 17, 240 murders have occurred in Chicago in 2012, 66 more murders than during the same period in 2011.  Other large cities, like New York and Los Angeles are either seeing their murder rates hold steady or decline.  In addition, other crimes in Chicago are actually on the decline.  Rapes, robberies, burglaries, and auto thefts have actually declined about 10 percent over a year ago.  Mayor Rahm Emmanuel is making the rising murder rate a priority in his administration.  He usually begins his day by reviewing reports about violence throughout the city overnight.  Emmanuel attributes the rising murder rate to the prevalence of street gangs and the ready availability of guns.  While the majority of the murders have occurred in the city's most gang infested neighborhoods, even some of the most affluent neighborhoods have been touched by the rising number of murders.  Experts are not ready to make any conclusions regarding the cause of the rising murder rate.  Some experts point to the city budget cuts which have left a shortfall in the number of police officers on the street.  Others point to the unusually warm summer which could explain the rise in violence.  

The warm hot summer has just begun and the streets of Chicago look like they will be particularly violent this summer.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.legaldefenderspc.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Crime Rate Drops Nationwide Except In 3 Illinois Towns

Three major Illinois cities are the exception to the national trend of dropping crime rates.  Nationwide, there was a drop of 5.5 percent drop in the number of violent crimes according to figures released by the FBI.  The nationwide drop in property crimes was 2.8 percent.  Violent crime in Chicago dropped 11 percent from 2009 to 2010.  Property crimes dropped by less than one percent.  However, Rockford, Joliet and Elgin all reported significant increases in violent crimes and increases in property crimes.  Rockford had a 10 percent increase in violent crimes, Joliet 9 percent and Elgin 8 percent.  Rockford had the highest rate of violent crime per capita, with 14 violent crimes occurring for every 1,000 residents.  And for every thousand residents, Rockford had 50 property crimes.  Chicago had 42 property crimes per 1,000 residents.  And even in Chicago, even though violent crimes dropped by 11 percent, there were still 10 violent crimes for every 1,000 residents.  And the number of burglaries, robberies and thefts remained the same in Chicago even though the number of auto thefts increased by 23 percent.  The biggest decline in violent crimes was in Aurora which reported a drop of 15 percent, with only 3 violent crimes per 1,000 residents.  Violent crimes include murder, robbery and assault.  The FBI did not report these figures for most Illinois cities in 2009 and 2010 because most Illinois towns failed to meet the FBI's reporting standards.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Chicago Crime Rate Continues to Drop

Chicago's crime rate continued to decline in April.  This decline marks the 28th consecutive monthly decline, according to the Chicago Police Department.  Last year's murder rate was the lowest in Chicago since 1965.  The current figures released by the Chicago Police Department indicate that the murder rate in 2011 may be even lower than last year.  There have been 17 fewer murders so far this year than during the same period of time in 2010.  This represents a decline of 14.2 percent from 2010.  In addition, Aggravated Batteries were down 17.8 percent, Aggravated Assaults declined by about the same percentage and Robberies and Sexual Assaults also decreased sharply.  All property crimes were lower, except for vehicle thefts which actually increased by 20 percent.  

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Crime Rate Down But Some Numbers Troubling

The good news is that the Chicago Police announced that the overall crime rate dropped in the first two months of 2011 compared to the first two months of 2010.  The number of robberies, aggravated assaults, batteries, thefts and arsons all decreased.  However, the murder rate increased by 18 percent, car thefts increased by 20 percent, after increasing 23 percent last year, and the number of rapes increased by 4 percent.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 12-800-228-7295.

Steady Decrease In City Crime Rate Continues

The overall crime rate in the City of Chicago dropped for the 25th consecutive month.  Compared to January of 2010 the overall crime rate decreased by 10.6%.  In 2010, the city had the fewest number of murders since 1965.  However, the number of murders in January of 2011 were more than in January of 2010.  In January of 2010 there were 22 murders and in January of 2011 there were 28 murders.  Every other category of violent crime decreased by double digits.  Ciminal Sexual Assaults decreased 13 percent, Aggravated Assaults dropped 11.3%, Aggravated Batteries dropped 10.1%, and Robberies dropped 10.4%.  Every category of property crimes, except car thefts, also had a substantial drop.  Car thefts were actually up by 21.8%.  General theft dropped 20.7%, Burglary dropped 6% and Arsons dropped 4.7%.  

Chicago Police Superintendent, Jody Weis indicated that police will continue to focus and guns and gangs saying that the majority violent crimes are caused by illegal guns.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Overall City Crime Rate Drops But Vehicle Thefts Up

The Chicago Police have announced that the overall crime rate dropped 4.5% from January to September when compared to the same time period as last year.  However, vehicle thefts were up 22.3% during the same time period.  The drop in the crime rate is the 21st consecutive monthly drop.  The number of murders declined by 2.3 percent.  The murder rate had slightly increased in August of this year.  At the current rate, Chicago stands to equal the 2007 murder rate, which was the lowest since 1965.  Violent crime was down 11 percent, aggravated batteries declined 7.7 percent.  Robberies and aggravated assaults also showed major declines and criminal sexual assaults were down more than 9 percent.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Violent Crimes and Property Crimes Decreasing Nationally

For the third consecutive year, violent crimes decreased in 2009 according to statistics released by the FBI.  For the seventh consecutive year property crimes decreased as well.  Compared to 2008, the number of violent and property crimes decreased by 5.3 percent and 4.6 percent when compared to 2008.  The violent crime rate for 2009 was 429.4 per 100,000 people, a decrease of 6.1 percent from 2008.  Nationwide, in 2009, a total of 1,318,398 violent crimes were reported.  Violent crime is defined as murder, manslaughter, robbery and aggravated assault.  All four categories of violent crime showed a decline.  The largest decreases were in murder and manslaughter.  Murders decreased by 7.3 percent and manslaughter decreased by 0.8 percent.  Aggravated Assault decreased by 4.2 percent.  9,320,971 property crimes were reported in 2009.  Motor Vehicle Thefts decreased by 17.1 percent, thefts decreased by 4 percent and burglaries decreased by 1.3 percent.

All of these statistics are compiled by the FBI by gathering information provided by local police agencies throughout the United States.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Chicago Crime Rate Drops Again

The Chicago Police are reporting that the crime rate in Chicago has dropped again.  Overall, crime is down 6.9 percent.  This is the 16th consecutive year that the crime rate has dropped in Chicago.  However, murders and vehicle thefts increased over last year.  Murders increased 8 percent from January 1 to April 30 of this year.  There have been a total of 127 murders, which is three more than this time last year.  The vast majority of murders involved the use of guns.  All the more reason that the elimination of guns from the streets will lead to the reduction of crime.  Criminal sexual assaults, robberies, arson and aggravated batteries dropped anywhere from 5 to 20 percent.  

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Theft Of Electronics Up On CTA

Pickpockets have been stealing small electronics from CTA passengers at an increasing pace.  Police have been reporting increased theft reports of IPods and cell phones.  On CTA buses, pickpocket thefts increased 6.5 percent from 2008 to 2009.  Thefts from CTA trains actually decreased by 12.5 percent.  However, nearly two-thirds of CTA users use buses.  The year after the IPhone was released in 2007, thefts on the CTA increased by 19 percent.  While police do not track what specifically is stolen, the evidence seems to suggest that these small electronics devices are what is causing the increase in the theft rate.  Police report that thieves spot the small ear phones and target their victims from there.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Violent Crime Rate Drops Nationally

Despite fears that the declining economy would cause an increase in the violent crime rate, statistics released by the FBI seem to suggest otherwise.  The statistics seem to suggest that the violent crime rate may be dropping for the third year in a row.  The statistics measure the crime rate for the first 6 months of the year, so they are not complete yet.  The number of murders fell 10 percent, robbery fell by 6.5 percent and rapes declined by 3.3 percent.  Overall, the violent crime rate fell by 1.8 percent from 2008 to 2007.  New York and Los Angeles saw a drop in their murder rate while Detroit saw an increase.  Incidentally, property crimes are also decreasing.  Vehicle thefts decreased by 18.7 percent and burglary fell by 2.5 percent.  Overall, the property property crime rate dropped by 6.1 percent.  The violent crime rate dropped in all four regions of the United States with the exception of the South which saw a tiny increase of 0.7 percent.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Authorities Warn Of Cemetary Crimes

With Father's Day right around the corner, authorities are warning people about the rise of theft crimes at cemeteries. People are being warned to lock their cars and keep a close eye on purses and valuables after several recent thefts at local cemeteries. There have been several cases in which women have returned to their cars only to find their purses missing from their cars. As temperatures rise and more people are expected at cemeteries, authorities are warning the public to be careful. For some reason, people think it's safe to leave their cars unlocked and their valuables out in the open in a cemetery. Thieves understand this and have been taking advantage of the opportunity.

There are over 100 cemeteries in Cook County.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

CTA Crime Rates Up Drastically

The other day we posted a blog about a drop in the number of traffic deaths on Illinois roads. Today, the Chicago Sun-Times posted an article that is somewhat related to our blog. They report that from 2006 to 2008, the number of robberies reported on Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) trains, platforms and buses increased a whopping 77%. The number of thefts has increased by 6%. An example of a theft would be a pickpocket. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in Illinois hit 9.3% and high gas prices have contributed in seeing ridership on the CTA buses and trains increasing by 6% from 2006 to 2008. Chicago police have responded to these increased numbers by conducting special undercover operations at certain high crime locations at certain peak times. The Chicago Police report that 4,933 arrests occurred in 2008 compared to 4,576 in 2007.

The reason we believe this article is related to Wednesday's post is that it illustrates how economic factors impact our travel habits. When job loses increase along with gas prices, fewer people drive their cars on the roads causing a drop in traffic deaths. Conversely, ridership on our public transportation systems increase causing an increase in crime on trains and buses.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Slow Economy Spurs Jump In Identity Theft Cases

In a study released on Monday by Javelin Strategy & Research shows that the number of identity theft cases jumped 22 percent to a total of 9.9 million cases in 2008. However, the actual monetary loss from each incident dropped 31 percent to $496. It is likely that as the economy worsens, the number of identity theft cases will continue to rise. It appears as if criminals are getting more desperate as the economy gets worse. 43 percent of identity theft cases were linked to wallet thefts. This number is up from 33 percent in 2007. Women were 26 percent more likely to be the victims of identity theft because they reported more cases of lost or stolen purses and wallets. Online identity theft only accounted for about 11 percent of all identity theft cases. More than 10 percent of victims of identity theft knew their identity thieves. The drop in the monetary loss from each incident can be attributed to banks taking greater steps to clear up identity theft when it becomes apparent that this has occurred and individuals are more alert when something like this happens.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.