I’m working on my annual analysis of Chicago’s safest and most dangerous neighborhoods, starting with homicides, and I decided to look at the homicide trend going back to 2001 (that’s where Chicago’s crime data portal starts). I had heard that Chicago’s homicide rate was up substantially this year but hearing that and seeing the actual data are two different things (and being directly impacted by a murder would be another totally different thing).
I summarized the data by month in the graph below along with a 12 month moving average (you can click on the graph for a larger view). Homicides always peak at this time of the year and this year is no exception. I guess the nice weather really puts people in the mood to kill each other. Last month 76 people were killed, compared to “only” 49 last June, for a 55% gain. That’s also a record high for the 16 years for which the city makes the data available. Who knows how far back you would have to look in order to find our true personal best.
That red line in the graph is a 12 month moving average, which takes out the seasonality in the numbers. As you can see it’s been rapidly rising as we continue to trounce last year’s numbers. Right now it’s standing around 50 per month, which is almost 30% higher than where it was last year at this time.
Stay tuned as I look at the last 12 month’s data by community area.
#ChicagoCrime #ChicagoMurder #ChicagoHomicide
Gary Lucido is the President of Lucid Realty, the Chicago area’s full service discount real estate brokerage. If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market, get an insider’s view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry, or you just think he’s the next Kurt Vonnegut you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email using the form below. Please be sure to verify your email address when you receive the verification notice.