Chicago shootings, murders up from last year, CPD August crime numbers show
Chicago police say they're giving more resources to carjacking task force
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The city just released its crime statistics for the month of August.
There were 493 people shot across Chicago.
That's up by three compared to last year.
There were 78 murders, compared to 64 in August of 2020. That's up 22% from the same time last year.
Year to date, murders have increased 3% compared to 2020, Chicago police said.
"We deeply understand how important it is for our residents to feel safe within our neighborhoods across the city," Superintendent David Brown said in a statement. "We are re-tooling our crime fighting strategies to stop the spike in crimes that we are seeing so we can bring a greater sense of safety to our communities."
Citywide, August 2021 recorded 20-year lows in burglaries and robberies. That continues the trend of year to date declines, with 20-year lows across the city in aggravated batteries, burglaries and robberies. Eight districts in the city have also seen 20-year lows in motor vehicle thefts, according to CPD.
Officers are also working to take weapons off the street and combat carjackings by adding additional resources, Chicago police said.
