'03 crimes down in all categories
Chicago Tribune
p. 3 / Metro section
Published January 25, 2004
CHICAGO -- Crime in Chicago dropped in every major category in 2003,
including homicides, which had been the exception to the trend of
falling crime rates in recent years.
Most significantly, violent crime fell by 10.1 percent in 2003, a drop
fueled mostly by nearly 3,000 fewer aggravated batteries, according to
Chicago Police Department statistics.
Homicide declined by 8.1 percent. There were 598 murders in Chicago last
year, compared with 651 in 2002. The city earlier had reported 599
homicides in 2003, versus 648 in 2002. The totals often change as new
information prompts officials to reclassify crimes.
The biggest drop in any category was in aggravated batteries. There were
12,461 in 2003, police said, down 18 percent from 15,204 the year before.
Reports of criminal sexual assault declined by nearly 12 percent;
robberies 6.6 percent; and theft by just under 1 percent. There were
96,543 thefts reported in 2003, according to police.
Copyright 2004, Chicago Tribune