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Carjackings have seen a dramatic decline in Chicago while murders and shootings continue to outpace the previous year, the Chicago Police Department said.
On Saturday, crime statistics for Chicago were released for April 2021.
Below is a breakdown of those statistics:
Carjackings in Chicago
The Chicago Police Department (CPD) says the decline in carjackings comes after the department announced the addition of 40 officers and four sergeants to its Vehicular Hijacking Task Force in January.
The task force was created to reduce the number of carjackings citywide.
The department says as a result, there has been a 55 percent drop in carjackings since January.
CPD says the numbers of carjackings have been trending downward since the beginning of the year.
"Vehicular hijackings remain a concern, but Chicago is trending in the right direction," said Supt. David Brown. "We need to recognize this progress and continue to work to improve in every area. The people of Chicago deserve nothing less than a world-class police department that is constantly looking to make the city a safer place."
The department says it has also emphasized partnership and paired with local, federal, state and county agencies to "perform Joint Vehicular Hijacking Operations."
The latest combined operation took place on April 9 and 10, and included the Illinois State Police, Cook County Sheriff's Police, Berwyn Police, Lake County Indiana Sheriff’s Department, Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
The result of this operation was four felony arrests, six hijacked vehicles recovered and four stolen vehicles recovered.
CPD says that youth outreach workers and community partners also continue to be part of the solution when it comes to reducing carjackings.
The ultimate goal of the department is to "get to the root of the cause" of the uptick in carjackings, which has a high rate of juvenile offenders, CPD said.
Gun removal from city streets
CPD says it continues their efforts to remove guns from the street, and have recovered more than 3,600 guns in 2021 - which is up 34 percent compared to the previous year.
The recovery includes 150 assault weapons.
Although carjackings may be down, the number of murders and shootings continue to outpace the previous year.
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Carjackers drive off with two small children in the car
Carjackers stole a car in Chicago on Saturday with two small children in the back seat. Luckily, those little kids were found safe and sound a few blocks away.
Property crimes, violent crimes in Chicago
CPD says property crime continues to drive the year-to-date reduction, down 28% year to date and 5% for the month, compared to the same month in 2020.
The property crime subtotal includes the categories of burglary, theft and motor vehicle theft.
Violent Crime subtotal is up 4% year to date and up 20% for April, compared to April 2020.
The violent crime subtotal includes the categories of homicide, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, robbery and criminal sexual assault.
More crime statistics are available on CPD’s website.