FBI 2019 Crime Report: See Trends In Illinois

ILLINOIS — Violent and property crimes both decreased in Illinois last year, according to data released by the FBI in its 2019 uniform crime report.

In Illinois, the FBI estimated crime statistics based on reports from 488 of the state’s 935 law enforcement agencies — or slightly more than half of the law enforcement agencies in the state.

The data shows violent crime went down slightly in Illinois from 2018 to 2019. The rate for violent crimes — including rape, homicide, robbery and aggravated assault — was 406.9 per 100,000 people in 2019, compared with 411.4 in 2018. That's a decrease of a little over 1 percent.

The homicide rate alone has decreased by 1 percent in Illinois, going from 7.1 per every 100,000 people in 2018 to 6.1 in 2019.

Property crimes — burglary, arson, larceny and vehicle theft — dropped more significantly in Illinois, going from 1,938.8 per 100,000 people in 2018 to 1,846.5 in 2019. The change marks a decrease of 4.7 percent year over year.

While Illinois' property crime rate is lower than the U.S. average, the state's violent crime rate remains nearly 7 percent higher than the national average.

Nationwide, the FBI reported a decrease in both violent and property crime from year to year. Violent crime went from a rate of 383.4 per 100,000 people in 2018 to 379.4 a year later, a decrease of about 0.5 percent. It's the third straight year violent crime decreased nationally, the FBI said.

Property crime numbers with the same control went from 2,209.8 to 2,109.9. There’s been a downward trend nationwide in this category since 2009, with a decrease of 4.1 percent from 2018 to 2019.

The nationwide downward crime trends continued into 2020, according to an overview of numbers from the first half of the year the FBI released a few weeks ago. But two subcategories in particular, murder and arson, have seen a significant increase in the six months that include the first few months of the coronavirus pandemic.

Murder and non-negligent manslaughter cases reported to the FBI by the 16,554 agencies that submitted last year’s data increased by 14.8 percent from the first half of 2019 to the same period in 2020. Arson increased by an even greater rate — 19.2 percent, the FBI said.

The FBI has issued a caution about the crime data coming in at the local levels.

Lists comparing cities and counties "do not provide insight into the numerous variables that shape crime in a given state, county, city, town, tribal area or region," the FBI said in a statement.

"These rankings lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that can create misleading perceptions that adversely affect communities and their residents,” the statement continued. “Only through careful study and analyses into the range of unique conditions affecting each local law enforcement jurisdiction can data users create valid assessments of crime."