Chicago police release 2023 citywide crime statistics

CHICAGO - The Chicago Police Department finished off 2023 with a reduction in homicides, gun violence victims, and a new superintendent.

CPD released its "2023 in Review," comprising crime statistics and significant changes made in the department over the past year.

Superintendent Larry Snelling was sworn in as the 64th Superintendent of the department this September, succeeding David Brown.

Overall, Chicago saw a 12.9% decrease in homicides in comparison to 2022.

"During 2023, CPD worked alongside community partners from across the city to reduce violence and build trust throughout our neighborhoods," said Superintendent Snelling. "As we head into the new year, we will continue our efforts to build stronger bonds amongst our residents, support the victims of crime and protect all Chicagoans."

Homicide Cases Solved

Detectives cleared over 50% of homicide cases in 2023 – the highest clearance rate since 2019. In 2022, there were 709 homicides recorded in Chicago. This past year, there were 617. Detectives cleared 319 cases.

Weapons Recovered

Chicago police officers took 12,452 guns off the streets. CPD says this marks the third consecutive year of more than 12,000 guns recovered.

The department hosted eight gun turn-in events across the city which resulted in the collection of 1,003 firearms and 221 replicas.

Chicago Carjackings

In 2023, the Vehicular Hijacking Task Force cleared 263 vehicular hijacking case reports and recovered more than $1 million in stolen merchandise. CPD says there were 1,308 vehicular hijackings – down 21% compared to 2022. Of the 237 arrests for vehicular hijacking, 50% were juvenile offenders.

Fallen Heroes

The community continues to mourn two fallen heroes who were killed in the line of duty. Andrés Mauricio Vásquez Lasso was killed on March 1 and Officer Arѐanah M. Preston died on May 6. Their names were added to the Memorial Wall at Gold Star Families Memorial and Park.

The department also released the crime statistics for December 2023.

There were 37 murders in the past month, which is down from 59 in 2022. Shooting incidents and victims of gunfire were also down with 166 victims compared to 2022's 222.

CPD did not release any information about robberies reported in Chicago throughout 2023 in the year-end crime statistics.