Crime Rates in Chicago: How to Find Neighborhood Statistics and More

Get to Know Your Beat

Whether you’re a current resident or someone moving to the Windy City, you may be looking for information on crime rates in Chicago. From violent crimes like homicide and robbery to lesser offenses like criminal trespass and telephone harassment, there’s a bevy of data out there; the question is how you access crime rates in Chicago and pinpoint the specific numbers you want. 

Many people are primarily interested in how to find neighborhood statistics to gauge the relative safety of their homes and workplaces, but whatever your motivations for studying crime rates in Chicago, the good news is that the information is at your fingertips, thanks to a combination of Chicago Police Department resources and the innovative folks at ChicagoCrime.org, a nonprofit entity with a free, searchable database.

Crime Rates in Chicago: Locating your District

Like other major cities, Chicago is broken up into districts, all with commanders who oversee policing in their particular zones. Chicago has 25 of these districts, each of which is divided into sectors and subdivided into beats. While each district has a name, it may or may not correspond to the popular term for the area. For example, the community area commonly known as Logan Square is primarily (though not entirely) located within Chicago Police District 14, or “Shakespeare.”

Crime Rates in Chicago: Locating your Beat

The beat, which is the smallest segment within a district, is identified by a four-digit number. The first two digits correspond to the district, the third digit corresponds to the sector, and the fourth digit identifies the specific beat within those bounds. Beat 1414, part of the Logan Square neighborhood, is located in District 14. This beat is in the first sector, and it’s the fourth beat within that zone – a rectangle bounded by Logan (N) and Armitage (S) and California (E) and Kedzie (W).