Chicago remains US murder capital for 12th straight year despite improving crime data
Chicago has marked a rather grim and tragic milestone after topping the nation in murders in 2023. This is the 12th year in a row that the Windy City has been crowned the murder capital of the United States, despite a drop in other crime statistics .
In new data shared by nonprofit community research firm Wirepoints, mirroring similar information from its year-end crime summary Chicago Police Department (CPD), Chicago had a total of 617 homicides last year.
By comparison, Philadelphia had the second highest number of murders in the country, with 408 deaths in 2023. New York, which has a much larger population than Chicago and Philadelphia combined, rounded out the top three with 386 murders last year.
Chicago has a population of over 2,6 million, Philadelphia has about 1,5 million people living there, and over 8,3 million call New York City home.
According to Wirepoints, Chicago's homicide rate per 100.000 residents fell slightly last year, but was still the second highest of any major American city. Overall, Chicago saw a decrease in homicides compared to 2022, when there were 709 murders in the city. This trend played out across the country, with homicides nationwide expected to decrease by about 13 percent in 2023.
Overall, the CPD numbers show that murders are down in Chicago. However, the crime rate remains high in certain categories.
The number of robberies remains particularly high. CPD figures show robberies are up 23 percent, motor vehicle thefts are up 37 percent and personal injury is up 6 percent. However, burglary and criminal sexual assault saw a huge decrease from 2022. Shooting incidents also saw a notable drop from previous years.
To clarify, theft becomes robbery if violence or threats are used against the victim. Burglary is when a thief enters a house or residence to steal.
In a media statement, a CPD spokesman said car robberies were down in 2023 as well, and police are arresting more carjacking and carjacking suspects than ever before. The spokesman said that the efforts of the authorities in these areas had resulted in a reduction in the number of incidents.
Image: Supaflyrobby, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
