Chicago sees drop in homicides, shootings in 2017
CHICAGO — Chicago police say there was less gun violence in the city in 2017 compared to the year before, but the total number of homicides still topped the 600 mark for only the second time in more than a decade.
Statistics released by the police department on Monday show the number of homicides fell from 771 in 2016 to 650 in 2017. The number of shooting incidents dropped from 3,550 to 2,785 for the same period.
Through the first half of 2017, the city appeared to be headed for yet another record or near-record year, but the Chicago Tribune reports the second half of 2017 was marked by a plunge in violence.
The department says the drop is in part due to an expansion of technology that enables police to pinpoint where shots have been fired and quickly dispatch officers to the crime scene.
Police say they're optimistic that the planned expansion of such crime-fighting technology will help bring down the numbers even more in 2018.