Murders down, shootings up in November compared to 2018: police

Murders reported last month in Chicago were down from November 2018, according to statistics released by Chicago police.

The 32 murders reported in November were a 28.9 percent decrease from the 45 reported in November 2018, according to a statement from the Chicago Police Department Sunday. Police said that drop marked the fewest murders on record for a November in Chicago since 2013.

Seven of Chicago’s 22 police districts – the Central, Wentworth, Harrison, Shakespeare, Albany Park, Near North and Lincoln districts – had no reported murders last month, police said.

However, the number of shootings and shooting victims was up slightly from this time last year, with 180 victims across 153 shootings reported last month, compared to 160 victims in 141 shootings in November 2018, according to police.

So far in 2019, 458 murders have been recorded in Chicago, police said. The number of shootings came in at 1,984.

The Sun-Times has counted 462 homicides this year within the city limits.

“I am very proud of the men and women of CPD who worked to implement the changes that have proven successful during my time leading this Department,” CPD Supt. Eddie Johnson, who announced his retirement Nov. 7, said in the statement. “The partnerships we have built within the community have also been a vital part of the turnaround that we have experienced in Chicago.”

Former Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck was named the CPD’s interim superintendent the day after Johnson’s announcement.

Meanwhile, more than 10,000 illegal guns have been seized by officers so far in 2019, with the city hitting the milestone on Nov. 22, police said. The department said it took 9,800 guns off the streets in all of 2018 and usually averages about 7,000 gun seizures annually.

Overall violent crime, including murders, robberies, burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts, was down by 11 percent in November 2019 compared to the same month last year, police said.

The department also touted 62 newly-promoted sergeants and lieutenants deployed on Nov. 24, in addition to a new class of 24 field training officers who will be assigned to train newly-graduated officers in early December. A class of 40 recruits also started a six-month training session at the Chicago Police Training Academy on Nov. 18.

Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.