Homicides in Chicago

I was reading the Red Eye this morning on the subway on the way to work (as usual) and happened upon the homicide tracker. I was saddened to read that there were 49 homicides in May (including 5 on one day) in Chicago.

The Red Eye noted that trends in the type of homicide, perpetrator, and motive continue from previous years, adding:
"Eighty percent of the...murders in 2008 involved a shooting and 229 murders stemmed from street gang strife or narcotics...The typical murder victim was black, male, between 17 and 25 years old and had a prior arrest history."

The violence also continues to be concentrated in the southern and western parts of the city.

Statistics collected by the Chicago Police Department on Chicago murders from 1991-2008 show that the annual murder rate--after being the highest in the nation in 2003 at 601--dropped just below 500/year for the years 2004-2007 but climbed back to 511 in 2008.

The large drop in 2004 has been partially attributed to the CPD's adoption of strategies, based on the NYPD's Compstat system, which saturates high crime areas with officers and surveillence cameras while also trying to counteract the cause of the violence.

Civilian groups have played a part in reducing homicides in recent year. CeaseFire, for example, works directly with former and current gang members to help decrease violence, while The Safer Foundation works to help ex-convicts find employment in order to keep them off the streets.

So far, there is hope that the 15% increase in homicides from 2007 to 2008 (which is not significant, according the CPD report) will not continue in 2009, as the total thus far (158) for January through June in 2009 is lower than last year (179).

Just some facts on trends in Chicago homicides, without too much analysis.