The Illinois State Police on Tuesday announced the state’s crime rate fell 3.6 percent in 2007, and that crime in the city of Chicago that year dropped 3.5 percent.
Crimes tracked in the survey are murder, criminal sexual assault, robbery, aggravated battery and aggravated assault, burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft and arson. Murder rates dropped statewide 4.8 percent in 2007.
Crime statistics in general can swing up or down on an annual basis. For example, in 2006, the state’s crime rates had increased from 2005. And this year, while statewide numbers are not yet available, Chicago has seen a significant surge in its murder rate: the city had 392 homicides through September, 50 more than in the first nine months in 2007.
One notable drop continues to be in the motor vehicle theft category, which decreased by 10 percent. This is the eighth year motor vehicle theft rates have dropped, according to the report.
State Police Lt. Luis Gutierrez said since tracking tools like global positioning devices became standard in many new cars, theft rates have fallen.
“GPS is a deterrent,” Gutierrez said, because it allows law enforcement to find a stolen car quickly. Gutierrez said he believes other forms of technology — such as street cameras — have played a factor in the drop.
Law enforcement agencies throughout the state reported 456,085 indexed crimes in 2007, compared to 470,730 in 2006. Counties bordering Cook County saw one of the larger drops in the report, with crime there down 4.7 percent.
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FROM NEWS SERVICES
