Chicago crime up 3 percent from last year

CHICAGO The foreclosure rate is creating more abandoned buildings which police say breed crime. Officers are spending more time, patrolling those areas to prevent vandalism, drug activity and other crimes.

Some retail security experts report that purse and laptop thefts are up. The FBI reports no correlation between bank robberies and the economy, but holdups have risen as bank locations expanded.

Throughout Chicago, crime is up 3 percent this year compared to the same period of 2007. Murders rose 16 percent, robberies 9 percent, burglaries 5 percent and thefts 3 percent.