That makes me feel better!

[muckefuck]

Many thanks to gopower, who has given me a new toy to play with during work hours: The Chicago Police Department Citizen ICAM. Put in an address and you get a report of all crimes committed within a chosen radius for a period of up to two weeks.

Results for my scary new neighbourhood (first three weeks of July): 7 thefts, 4 batteries.
Results for my safe old neighbourhood (first three weeks of July): 23 thefts, 3 batteries, 1 homicide.

He informed me about this when we ran into each other on the street, something which has never happened before in the fourth months or so we've been living two blocks from each other. I was strolling around, reminding myself of the perks of Lincoln Park living that I never seem to take advantage of--like being two blocks from the friggin' park! On the way back home, I passed seven cars in a row that were all black. Two of them Grand Cherokees. I don't know why that should amuse me as much as it does.

Comments

[snowy-owlet.livejournal.com]

Eat more gelato while it's still close by.

[mollpeartree.livejournal.com]

What radius did you use? It gave me the following for one mile in a 2-week period:

Battery: 8, Assault: 5, Robbery: 2, Theft: 16, Burglary: 12, Criminal Damage: 15, Motor vehicle theft: 2, Criminal trespass: 3, Attempted motor vehicle theft: 1

I’m trying to decide if I’m full of crap or not on the “my neighborhood is sooo safe now” thing that I keep telling people.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

One mile? My searches were for one quarter mile. Why don't you do a one mile search on my current address for the same period and compare. That should make you feel better.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Here, I did it for you:

19 BATTERY
1 TELEPHONE THREATS
4 ROBBERY
2 HARASSMENT BY TELEPHONE
1 ATTEMPT ROBBERY
4 ASSAULT
43 THEFT
15 BURGLARY
24 CRIMINAL DAMAGE
12 MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT
3 CRIMINAL TRESPASS
1 OTHER VEHICLE OFFENSES
1 BOMB THREAT
2 DECEPTIVE PRACTICE
1 ATTEMPT MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT
1 VIOLATION ORDER OF PROTECTION
1 HOMICIDE
1 OFFENSE INVOLVING CHILDREN
1 PROPERTY (Domestic)
1 CRIMINAL DAMAGE
2 UNDETERMINED
2 FINANCIAL IDENTITY THEFT

Now that the seething criminal underbelly of placid, affluent Lincoln Park is opened up for view like a ventral autopsy, don't you feel better?

[mollpeartree.livejournal.com]

Woah, my neighborhood really is way safe, in the summer anyway (I was quoting from the last 2 weeks above). I noticed that the numbers go up if you search during the academic year while the students (i.e., fat juicy targets) are here, to about the same ballpark as yours.

[lhn.livejournal.com]

Does the database also give the number of people in the area? Presumably some of the variation is related to population density-- if there are twice as many people within a mile or whatever, then all things being equal you'd expect twice as many crimes. I'm guessing that Lincoln Park is one of the more densely packed neighborhoods in the city, though I could be wrong.

Though that also can give skewed results. The Loop appeared to have a huge number of crimes per capita when I was looking up crime rate stats a few years back-- because, of course, the number of people there most of the time is a large multiple of those recorded as living there. (A bedroom community would show the opposite effect.)

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm sure that's part of it. The one-mile radius around me includes several high rises (but also several large hospitals). By contrast, the search on the new address includes a more substantial slice of park.

As you note, the figures can be skewed by pass-through traffic. Lincoln and Belden on a Saturday night is a busier corner than any in Hyde Park ever. (Actually, given the presence of so many drunken louts in my neighbourhood at night, I'm surprised the crimes aren't higher.) And there's always the reporting effect. I'm willing to wager yuppies are more likely to turn to the Chicago police than the Pakis who crowd the four-plus-ones along Sheridan.

[lhn.livejournal.com]

the four-plus-ones along Sheridan.

Well, I've learned a new word. (I was going to ask what it meant, but Google found me the definition and some pictures. Go Google!)

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

monshu uses it so casually, I forget that it's a rather specialised term. However, the neighbourhood is full of 'em. What I can't believe is that some are being converted into condos. These things aren't even compliant with muncipal fire codes!

A Short Tangential Tale

[snowy-owlet.livejournal.com]

When I was on my mission to flee from the Bedbug, my Apartment People agent took me to a four-plus-one on Sheridan. The apartment was large and cheap, but it was also smelly, brown, decorated in a distinctly 1970s motif, and being shown to us by a creepy nine-fingered Ukrainian super in too-short shorts. I stood in the middle of the living room and cried. And the agent (John) put his hands on my shoulders and said, "I promise you. We will find you an apartment that will make you feel safe."

The next one was GirlHaven.