Getting mugged in Chicago (Lincoln, Irving: transplants, apartment, violent crime)

[vince85]

Hi. I am moving to Chicago petty soon but have become worried with the crime in the city. Some ppl on this forum have pointed out that it's the media that blows it out of proportion (and i hope that's the case). There are great threads on this topic but they tend to cover primarily shootings, homicides, or gang-related crime. What I am concerned with, however, is all the mugging/pick-pocketing that occurs on the streets.

So, i wanted to ask if any of you know about certain blocks in Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Albany Park, Irving Park, or around Loyola University that should def be avoided.

Also, i have a car and would love to bring it to Chicago w/ me, but i keep reading abt the high auto-theft rates in the city. i'm not sure what cars those are; mine is a Chrysler Concorde (2000). It's fairly modern, so it should be equipped with some anti-theft protection but one can never be too sure...

Thank you in advance.

[Sid and Nancy]

Originally Posted by vince85

Hi. I am moving to Chicago petty soon but have become worried with the crime in the city. Some ppl on this forum have pointed out that it's the media that blows it out of proportion (and i hope that's the case). There are great threads on this topic but they tend to cover primarily shootings, homicides, or gang-related crime. What I am concerned with, however, is all the mugging/pick-pocketing that occurs on the streets.

So, i wanted to ask if any of you know about certain blocks in Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Albany Park, Irving Park, or around Loyola University that should def be avoided.

Also, i have a car and would love to bring it to Chicago w/ me, but i keep reading abt the high auto-theft rates in the city. i'm not sure what cars those are; mine is a Chrysler Concorde (2000). It's fairly modern, so it should be equipped with some anti-theft protection but one can never be too sure...

Thank you in advance.

Lincoln Park and Lakeview are pretty safe by urban standards. Assuming you aren't staggering around at 3 am competely drunk you should be ok. I've been to both neighborhoods literally hundreds of times and have not had any problems, aside from the occasional obnoxious drunk frat boy. I'm not familiar with Irving Park or Albany Park, so I'll refrain from commenting on those areas. Lawrence ave does appear to get trashier as you go west of Kedzie. The area immediately around Loyola University in Rogers park is fairly safe. There are some rough patches the further west you go.

As for as your car goes, I've had my car broken into plenty of times, but never had anything more than my car radio stolen. I don't think a 10 year old car will be a target for car thieves.

[chet everett]

Thieves like to steal cars that there are lots of and are easy to get into. I don't think a Chrylese is particularly high on either category.

Muggings do happen and are generally rerouted accurately as " robbery, strong arm, no weapn" which means some thug smacked the victim HARD in the head and grabbed their purse /wallet iPone/backpack....

Crimes › Robbery: Strongarm: no weapon | EveryBlock (http://m.chicago.everyblock.com/crime/by-secondary-type/149/ - broken link)

[Jandur]

Originally Posted by vince85

Hi. I am moving to Chicago petty soon but have become worried with the crime in the city. Some ppl on this forum have pointed out that it's the media that blows it out of proportion (and i hope that's the case). There are great threads on this topic but they tend to cover primarily shootings, homicides, or gang-related crime. What I am concerned with, however, is all the mugging/pick-pocketing that occurs on the streets.

The media doesn't exactly blow things out of proportion in terms of crime. Chicago has a lot of crime there is no doubt about that. What people from out of state don't always realize that most of these violent crimes are isolated to certain areas. The safe areas of Chicago like Lincoln Park, Gold Coast etc are about as safe as you can hope for in a major city. Conversely, the bad parts are about as bad as they can come.

Could your car get broken into in a good area? Sure it could. But if you stay out of the bad areas, especially during night time you will dramatically lower your risks. And to be frank there really isn't ever much of a reason to ever go through these high-crime areas. I know I've never had to.

[vince85]

Yea i know abt EveryBlock (thank you though); they use data from the Chicago Police but i don't know if I should believe them. I know it sounds ridiculous not to believe them. It's just that when I was in Chicago, I did not witness any of that. I walked through Lakeview and the Loop for3 days up until 7-8pm. This was in the winter, so it was dark for quite some time......my point is that according to the data, larcenies occur at every block every day (or something like that), including the Loop.....yet i never saw anything when I was on the streets (in the same areas, at around the same time).

so, as an outsider, it's hard for me to decide where to live based on police data...(hence my post).

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by vince85

Yea i know abt EveryBlock (thank you though); they use data from the Chicago Police but i don't know if I should believe them. I know it sounds ridiculous not to believe them. It's just that when I was in Chicago, I did not witness any of that. I walked through Lakeview and the Loop for3 days up until 7-8pm. This was in the winter, so it was dark for quite some time......my point is that according to the data, larcenies occur at every block every day (or something like that), including the Loop.....yet i never saw anything when I was on the streets (in the same areas, at around the same time).

so, as an outsider, it's hard for me to decide where to live based on police data...(hence my post).

So you think Everyblock is over-reporting crime? That's a first.

Have you been watching a lot of TV crime dramas? Most north-siders live and work in relative peace without much exposure to serious crime. My wife and I have lived here for a combined 23 years, and have never really witnessed or been a victim of anything too serious (knocking on wood). We do have a few stories, and have friends who have been mugged or burglarized. But in general, it's not hard to live a relatively crime-free existence in Chicago for many, many years.

Your location says "New York"... Are you familiar with New York City? If so, you basically have to exercise the same caution here. Our numbers are worse, but the neighborhoods producing those numbers aren't likely to be part of your life unless you make some really, really ridiculous decisions about where you live and work.

[MannheimMadman]

Just because you don't see anything doesn't mean it isn't happening. My neighborhood appears downright tranquil to me, yet my apartment was robbed and my car was broken into.

Also, Chicago in the winter and Chicago in the middle of summer are two different beasts. I see and hear crazy stuff now that I NEVER would have seen or heard back when I moved into this neighborhood in February.

CLEARmap is a good option for checking in on crimes. I use it weekly to see what's up, as well as attending CAPS meetings.

Since you asked about Albany Park, and I live here, I would say that Lawrence and Kimball gets awfully sketchy at night sometimes (and CLEARmap will confirm that.) Also, the northwest quadrant composed of Argyle and Wilsonto the north and south, Lawndale to Kimball east to west seems to have some issues. My coworker lives at Ainslie and Central Park and has been robbed three times already.

YMMV.

[adrianh]

Originally Posted by vince85

Yea i know abt EveryBlock (thank you though); they use data from the Chicago Police but i don't know if I should believe them. I know it sounds ridiculous not to believe them. It's just that when I was in Chicago, I did not witness any of that.

Hey there,

Adrian from EveryBlock here. We use exactly the same data as on CLEARpath (the official CPD site), so rest assured our data is good -- at least, to the extent that the original CPD data is good. General caveats apply, of course: all databases contain errors, the CPD doesn't include every crime, lots of crimes don't get reported, etc.

Best wishes with your move to Chicago -- you'll love it here. I wouldn't get too freaked out about crime. Lake View is a good "starter neighborhood," as it's full of recent transplants to the city.

Adrian

[vince85]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

So you think Everyblock is over-reporting crime? That's a first.

Have you been watching a lot of TV crime dramas? Most north-siders live and work in relative peace without much exposure to serious crime. My wife and I have lived here for a combined 23 years, and have never really witnessed or been a victim of anything too serious (knocking on wood). We do have a few stories, and have friends who have been mugged or burglarized. But in general, it's not hard to live a relatively crime-free existence in Chicago for many, many years.

Your location says "New York"... Are you familiar with New York City? If so, you basically have to exercise the same caution here. Our numbers are worse, but the neighborhoods producing those numbers aren't likely to be part of your life unless you make some really, really ridiculous decisions about where you live and work.

i do not mean this to sound offensive, but it really amuses me when i reead that NYC is dangerous...and i've seen similar claims several times on this website (sometimes made by new yorkers themselves)...i moved to NY 8yrs ago and have wandered through the streets of various neighborhoods at virtually any time during the day/night. During these 8 yrs, there's been only 1 time when i had to change my route b/c i saw "thugs" a couple of blocks away who knew me because they had created problems for my friend a few days before that. ....but this is it! for 8 yrs. For the record, I live in Astoria, but like I said, i've been through various neighborhoods at any time during the day/night.

Having said that, i want to add that i do not live in a glass ball. i am well aware that there is a looot of heavy crime on the streets of NYC, but it's concentrated in certain areas. As for my own neighborhood,there's a region with housing projects for low-income families. i've walked through there many, many times during day; it's safe. At nighttime -- i dont know. So, to reply to your advice, I dont really exercise any caution over here.

And this is how i want to live in Chicago b/c i know that it's a fantastic place!

If you dont mind me asking, in which neighborhood do you and your wife live?
Thank you for replying.

[vince85]

Originally Posted by adrianh

Hey there,

Adrian from EveryBlock here. We use exactly the same data as on CLEARpath (the official CPD site), so rest assured our data is good -- at least, to the extent that the original CPD data is good. General caveats apply, of course: all databases contain errors, the CPD doesn't include every crime, lots of crimes don't get reported, etc.

Best wishes with your move to Chicago -- you'll love it here. I wouldn't get too freaked out about crime. Lake View is a good "starter neighborhood," as it's full of recent transplants to the city.

Adrian

Hi Adrian,
Thank you for taking the time to reply. What I meant in my original post was that the CPD data may not be reliable. I have nothing against EveryBlock I know you, guys, use information from a lot of sources and basically sum it up (which is wonderful). My doubts were towards the Police Dep't. I know it's completely ridiculous to suppose that they would make up crimes; i just dont understand how I found myself in a highly crime-occurring area and yet never saw anything. oh, well....

Thank you very much,
Vince