CHICAGO (WLS) — Chicago's 11th Police District is one of the most dangerous areas in the city for violent crime, but new Chicago Police data shows that violent crime and property crimes are trending down.
The district consists of portions of Humboldt Park, Lawndale Park, and East and West Garfield Park.
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Mayor Brandon Johnson and 11th District Commander Davina Ward sat down exclusively with ABC7 to discuss this trend.
Johnson credits the captain. Ward's leadership of dazzling trends. The mayor, a proud West Cedar himself, said the decline in homicides and other crimes in the 11th District as of October 2023 compared to now is especially meaningful.
He said: “This is what people expect from the government, which is to show the full strength of the government and work in cooperation and in tandem with society.”
The ABC7 data team took a deep dive into crime trends, looking at years of competing data rather than months at a time. Our analysis of CPD statistics shows that violent crimes and property crimes in the 11th District are down compared to the three-year average.
In the past 12 months, there were 48 homicides, a 45% decrease compared to the average of the past three years; 285 shootings, down 39% compared to the three-year average; 100 car thefts, about a 34% decrease; And a 9% reduction in car theft.
But these numbers, although low, are still very high.
“They have to work with us,” Ward said. “Work with us and any other organization we bring in to help them stay safe. This is the only way we can at least start to see more crimes go down.”
Ward, one of only two Black female leaders in the city, implored the community to step in to continue these trends.
“They're tired of all the crime in their neighborhoods. They really want to have a safe place to live and for their children and grandchildren to play,” she said.
But burglaries are up about 2% in the 11th District compared to the three-year average, with 758 burglaries in the past 12 months, the highest per capita rate in the city. It also remains one of the most dangerous areas for violent crime. There have been 2,100 violent crimes so far last year, the second highest rate in the city.
“I pledged to hire more detectives. I said 200 by the end of my first term. We will get to 200 by the end of this year because solving crimes is a deterrent,” Mayor Johnson said. “But also with new technology. We will have three new helicopters by the end of this year, and this is part of our overall strategy.”
There was also a significant amount of visible drug dealing on the way in and out of the ABC7 interview in North Lawndale, but the general trends the 11th District is seeing are ones the mayor and CPD hope to replicate in other neighborhoods.
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