# What's up with the violence? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 13, 2012, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-violence/624981 "2012-06-13T02:30:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SanDiegoTim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-violence/624981/1 "2012-06-13T02:30:49Z")
Living elsewhere, I have only what I read to form an opinion. I see increased reporting of shootings which appear to be concentrated on the south and west sides. Presumably this is black on black crime. I see more reporting of north loop assaults by blacks. Even the relatively quiet neighborhood in which I grew up (Edgewater) seems to be plagued with crime. Is my impression inaccurate or are thse types of crimes simply being hilighted more in the print media? One more thing, and back to the shootings, are their any significant efforts from within the black community to change what appears to be a horrible situation? I don’t see how this problem could be dealt with in any other way. ---
**Author:** ![BorgHunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@BorgHunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BorgHunter)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-violence/624981/2 "2012-06-13T02:46:53Z")
> [@SanDiegoTim](#): > > Living elsewhere, I have only what I read to form an opinion. I see increased reporting of shootings which appear to be concentrated on the south and west sides. Presumably this is black on black crime. I see more reporting of north loop assaults by blacks. Even the relatively quiet neighborhood in which I grew up (Edgewater) seems to be plagued with crime. This is the second time I’ve read someone make this claim about Edgewater today. Where are people getting this impression of Edgewater as Englewood North? [CPD’s own data](http://gis.chicagopolice.org/CLEARMap_crime_sums/startPage.htm) shows Edgewater to be every bit the relatively safe neighborhood you’re thinking of. I live in Edgewater and, disclaimer about anecdote not being the plural of data goes here, I haven’t seen anything unusual lately. Is one of the local news outlets running scare stories to drum up business again? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-violence/624981/3 "2012-06-13T10:32:14Z")
It’s not just Chicago experiencing a jolt in violent crime this year, **SanDiegoTim**. On average there are 18 murders a year in NH. There were 11 in April this year alone, bringing the total for the year to date to 15 less than four months into the year. ---
**Author:** ![SanDiegoTim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-violence/624981/4 "2012-06-13T13:04:34Z")
“Is one of the local news outlets running scare stories to drum up business again?” I don’t know anything about that. I simply follow the goings-on in my old neighborhood via [http://www.edgevillebuzz.com/](http://www.edgevillebuzz.com/) and local Chicago papers. My memories of Edgewater are very different from what I read. Of course, I lived there in the 1950’s and 1960’s and much has changed (everywhere). ---
**Author:** ![Stormcrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/0ea827/32.png) [@Stormcrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stormcrow)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-violence/624981/5 "2012-06-13T13:25:23Z")
My impression is that there’s been a recent spike in violent crime in Chicago, but I don’t know that it is more than a statistical anomaly. In general violent crime has been declining over the past couple of decades. Edgewater seems like a pretty safe neighborhood to me (I live in Rogers Park), but I don’t have the perspective of having lived there in decades past. As for the victims and perpetrators, I think it’s more accurate to say that it is “gang on gang” crime rather than “black on black.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-violence/624981/6 "2012-06-13T15:46:22Z")
> [@Stormcrow](#): > > As for the victims and perpetrators, I think it’s more accurate to say that it is “gang on gang” crime rather than “black on black.” The shootings, probably, but the downtown big-group-of-teens muggings/beatings are not gang-on-gang. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Uncle\_Goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Goat)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-violence/624981/7 "2012-06-13T20:19:06Z")
Rest assured that none of the violence can be traced to widespread unemployment of the inner city youth, the ease in which guns can be obtained, or the use of drugs or alcohol. Everyone hurt or killed most likely had it coming to them because hey, fuck 'em, they’re poor. ---
**Author:** ![ScatteredFrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@ScatteredFrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScatteredFrog)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-violence/624981/8 "2012-06-13T21:58:58Z")
Just to chime in, I live in Edgewater and have lived there for nearly six years…and I’ve always felt perfectly safe, and so has my wife. I’d have to think REALLY hard to remember any violent crime since I’ve been here, and the only thing I can think of off the top of my head are some Asian guy who murdered his wife after accusing her of cheating on him (this was Andersonville, which is part of Edgewater), and I think someone got shot or stabbed on Hollywood and Kenmore a couple of months ago…but other than that, I can’t think of anything else worth mentioning… ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-violence/624981/9 "2012-06-18T12:10:06Z")
The weather has something to do with it as well. An unusually warm winter and spring means more people on the streets and more opportunities for confrontation. Most of the murders occur in three areas (more than 75%) and are typically black on black and gang related. Otherwise, Chicago is actually a relatively very safe large city. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-violence/624981/10 "2012-06-18T14:20:14Z")
When we landed at LAX a few days ago, the wheelchair attendant said that he’d heard that the “murder rate in Chicago exceeds that in Afghanistan.” Took us completely aback. My wife’s impression is that there was a flare-up of violence over the Memorial Day weekend, and it seems to have been picked up and exaggerated by some so-called “news” media or other. This 24/7 news stuff has got to be stopped, it’s destructive to the whole notion of “news.” ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-violence/624981/11 "2012-06-18T14:23:33Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > The shootings, probably, but the downtown big-group-of-teens muggings/beatings are not gang-on-gang. Is that happening again? I thought that was last year’s news. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-violence/624981/12 "2012-06-18T15:26:47Z")
> [@SanDiegoTim](#): > > Living elsewhere, I have only what I read to form an opinion. I see increased reporting of shootings which appear to be concentrated on the south and west sides. Presumably this is black on black crime. I see more reporting of north loop assaults by blacks. Even the relatively quiet neighborhood in which I grew up (Edgewater) seems to be plagued with crime. > > Is my impression inaccurate or are thse types of crimes simply being hilighted more in the print media? The latest statistics from the FBI concerning gangs and gang crime, indicated that Chicago has more gang members, 11 per 100,000 population, than anywhere else in the U.S.. I believe NYC and LA had 10 per 100K. Criminal gangs go on rampages, claim territory, seek revenge, initiate new members, whatever. The question is, “Why are there so many gang members in Chicago?” Why hasn’t the City government made it more disadvantagious to join criminal street gangs? ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-violence/624981/13 "2012-06-19T13:50:21Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > This 24/7 news stuff has got to be stopped, it’s destructive to the whole notion of “news.” Ummm no. Let’s allow the to market dictate what news people do and do not want. A lot of it is sensationalism and, IMHO, an effort to discredit Obama as he is from here. Same thing happened, again IMHO, with Texas and Bush. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-violence/624981/14 "2012-06-19T14:59:17Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Is that happening again? I thought that was last year’s news. It is. There’ve been several incidents in the past couple of weeks in which groups of young people have attacked individuals in what would generally be considered “safer” areas (particularly Streeterville, around Northwestern Hospital), as well as an attack on a family on the Red Line. (And, yes, that’s similar to stories which were in the news last summer.) That’s in addition to the seemingly large numbers of shootings every weekend (last weekend, there were [39 people shot in the city](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-shooting-arrest-20120619,0,4578457.story), 7 fatally)…and that was a decrease from the previous weekend (53 shootings). It seems like violence is up versus previous years, but I’m not sure that I’ve seen hard statistics on it. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-violence/624981/15 "2012-06-19T16:10:25Z")
According to “Second City Cop” Chicago has had 228 homicides in 2012. The writer compares that to the 144 in Afghanistan in the same time period. Good news: I can buy an airline ticket for half the price it cost me last year.