By Angela Rozas
The Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO — As federal data released Monday showed a slight uptick in violent crime across the nation last year, violent crime in Chicago continued to decline.
Final statistics released by the FBI showed the number of reported violent crimes rose almost 2 percent last year across the country, a modest increase but one that for the second year bucks a longtime national trend of decreasing violence.
Overall, the violent-crime rate, which accounts for changes in population, has decreased more than 22 percent in the past decade.
While the number of slayings in Chicago increased 3 percent in 2006 from the previous year, violent crime dropped 3 percent, and the total number of killings is still hundreds below the average just four years ago.
Signs show Chicago may continue its overall drop in reported violent crimes. By the end of August, total violent crimes reported was down 4.1 percent, and killings were down 2.3 percent.
And as of the end of summer -- typically the most violent time in the city for homicides -- police say the city has had 12 fewer killings than last year, 336 compared to 348.
Chicago police pointed to continued targeting of drug and gang operations with helping to reduce overall violence in the city.
“In Chicago, we see it over and over again. Gangs, guns and drugs drive the crime we see,” said Deputy Chief Steve Caluris, head of Narcotics and Gang Investigations.
Police have used long-term investigations to shut down open-air drug markets, which in turn cuts down on violence, he said.
Police have also in recent years saturated violent hot spots with officers, a way to quell immediate violence until other police resources can straighten out the problem, he said.
“We have limited resources. We can’t attack everywhere at once, so we really have to look at the areas where the violence is happening and focus on that,” he said.
Copyright 2007 Chicago Tribune