Unsafe cities
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Over the past decade, crime trends in Chicago have shown a mix of improvement in overall numbers but increased severity in certain categories:
- Decline in Overall Crime: Chicago experienced a 29% reduction in reported crimes from 2012 to 2022, particularly in burglary, robbery, theft, and battery. These declines suggest improvements in property crime and less frequent non-violent offenses  .
- Increase in Violent Crime: Despite the general decline, violent crimes like homicide and assault have increased significantly. Homicides rose by 41%, and motor vehicle theft increased by over 30% from 2012 to 2022. Assaults also saw notable growth  .
- Arrest Rates at Record Lows: Arrest rates for reported crimes hit a 10-year low in 2022, with only 12% of crimes resulting in arrests. This suggests challenges in enforcement and resource allocation .
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Or, it suggests many crimes are being underreported or not reported at all.
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Boston always seemed like a very safe city to me, unless you count the daylight robbery experienced on a daily basis by people shopping.
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How much of that is "know your neighborhood?"
In New Orleans, there were some areas that I would not consider going to, even in daylight. That's just common sense in any city.
Chicago, however, seems to have become more .. unpleasant... in what used to be "safe" locations. The Loop, Gold Coast, etc have seen a real uptick in crime.
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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@George-K said in Unsafe cities:
How much of that is "know your neighborhood?"
In New Orleans, there were some areas that I would not consider going to, even in daylight. That's just common sense in any city.
Chicago, however, seems to have become more .. unpleasant... in what used to be "safe" locations. The Loop, Gold Coast, etc have seen a real uptick in crime.
Staying in San Francisco was a bit of an eye-opener for me. I was in a pretty upmarket-seeming downtown hotel with work, there were pictures of Elvis staying there and what-have-you, presumably for the $50 all-you-can-eat breakfast and Moet & Chandon vending machines (I kid you not). If you stepped outside and turned left you could find yourself in a whole mess of trouble pretty quickly. If you turned right, it was OK, but still just OK. I certainly wouldn't go there for fun.
