Story by Erica Demarest, courtesy of the Windy City Times
In the wake of several recent violent crimes in Boystown, many residents are adamant that crime is on the rise in the neighborhood. Hundreds have gathered at community meetings demanding solutions, and some even claim this summer's incidents are the worst they've ever seen.
To get a better picture of Lakeview crime trends, the Windy City Times examined citywide and district-by-district Chicago Police Department crime data going back to 2006. While some media outlets have claimed there's been an increase in crime in the neighborhood, our findings suggest otherwise.
"The crime rate has been fairly steady and kind of on a downward trend for the past several years," said Commander Kathleen Boehmer of the 23rd Police District, which includes Boystown and most of Lakeview.
With the exception of a spike in 2008 (which correlated to a citywide crime increase), crime rates in the 23rd District have dropped every year since 2006. That year, there were 3,629 reported crimes in the district. By 2010, the number had declined more than 8 percent to 3,326.
So far, 2011 crime rates look like they'll follow a similar trend.
Read the whole story here.