Chicago is one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S.

Question

The increasing divergence between neighborhoods creates a dissonant backdrop for the ideological debate that's raging around Chicago's crime problem. Overall, Chicago’s per-capita murder rate is higher than in New York City or Los Angeles, but is lower than in Midwestern cities such as Detroit, Milwaukee and St. Louis.

Comments

According to an article published by Property Club, Chicago is the last on the list of the top 13 most dangerous cities in the US as of 2024. However, according to data published by The Hill, Chicago did not appear as one of the top cities with the highest crime cost per capita. According to the World Population Review, "a city with a high violent crime rate does not indicate that the entire city is unsafe." So, in a sense, it is true that Chicago is ONE of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. but certainly not the worst.

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Based on what you hear or see it could be true but you never know what could happen in other cities. But if we are going based on the past then I'd say it could be Chicago but there definitely other cities we should take into consideration based on based and news.

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The evidence in the article linked does provide some compelling data that shows Chicago is a dangerous city. Looking at other sources the stats do seem to be correct and backed up by the official CPD statistical reports. However, just because certain areas of the city are dangerous does not dictate that the city as a whole is dangerous. It all depends on where you are in the city and I feel that's true with all large cities. So while there is data showing parts of Chicago are dangerous the claim states that Chicago as a whole is dangerous which I think is up for interpretation. Below I linked the Chicago Police departments statistical reports.
https://www.chicagopolice.org/statistics-data/statistical-reports/

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Good job sourcing your information as well as adding quotes. I believe you added a good length of evidence to support your claim.

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“Chicago is one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S”
When it comes to fact-checking this claim, it is important to understand the context of this claim. They state that “Chicago is one of the most”, they are not saying that it is the most dangerous, or even in the top 5 or 10, they are simply stating that Chicago is one of the most. Overall- Chicago has a per capita murder rate that is higher than larger cities, such as New York, considering the population. But Chicago has a lower murder rate than cities such as St. Luois and Detriot, with that being said, it is not entirely false that Chicago is “one of the most” dangerous cities in the U.S, as it out places such as Los Angeles and New York, but it also is not ranked nearly as high as places like Detriot, like this claim could lead you to believe. But I do think that this claim is not false, and Chicago can be listed as one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S.
Ori, R. (2023, July 10). Chicago’s violence problem: A debate on safety and inequality. Crain's Chicago Business. https://www.chicagobusiness.com/crains-forum-safer-chicago/chicago-violence-problem-debate-safety-inequality

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I really like your fact-check to this claim. I thought you did an amazing job with specific data that is in the article, giving the reader a quick understanding of the article, while also proving it's legitimacy. I also like that you do not entirely say how its true or false, because with this claim it is a little tricky. Mentioning that it is "up for interpretation" is wording that I like and I agree with, because it's true, the data states that it is a dangerous city, however, most cities are, but the data also states how it is not nearly a dangerous as other cities and as dangerous that people make it out to be.

Answer 1

According to the Property Clubs' article "Most Dangerous Cities in America," it can be said that Chicago has a relatively high crime rate and is considered more dangerous than the US average, making it one of the more dangerous cities in the United States (ranked 10th). This ranking is considered by the provided crime rate of 3,926 per 100,000 people, which is 67% higher than the US average, and by the number of violent crimes and murders recorded in 2020. The report further emphasizes that much of this violence is concentrated in certain neighborhoods and is closely tied to gang activity and the drug trade.

Source: https://propertyclub.nyc/article/most-dangerous-cities-in-the-us#:~:text=It%20constantly%20makes%20the%20news,dangerous%20than%20the%20US%20average.

Answer 2

This is an exaggerated claim. Chicago is a huge city with different areas being different levels of safeness. According to https://www.visualcapitalist.com/most-dangerous-cities-in-the-us/ this list, the most dangerous city in America is in Alabama.

Answer 3

I think that this may be misleading. A ranking done by Mapped listed the cities that have the most violent crimes per every 1,000 person and Chicago was not in it. It states that "the focus is usually on big cities like Chicago or San Francisco, but some of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. are actually smaller or suburban cities, at least according to new per capita data". 

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/most-dangerous-cities-in-the-us/

Answer 4

Using the comparison tool for 2023 from https://www.bestplaces.net/crime/?city1=51714000&city2=53651000, based off of FBI data

Chicago, on a range from 1 (low) to 100 (high) in terms of crime is at 50 on violent crime and 46 on property crime

New York City is at 28 and 25. Los Angeles is at 29 and 35.

So Chicago does indeed have a higher crime rate than NYC and LA, the other big metropolitan cities of the USA.

Detroit is at 94 and 67. Milwaukee is at 73 and 60. St. Louis is at 87 an 85.
 

So Chicago does indeed have a lower crime rate than these other midwestern inner cities.

Answer 5

This claim is exaggerated. While Chicago can be dangerous, it is not "one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S." According to Forbes, it is not in the top 15 most dangerous cities in America. In an article by CBS, Chicago's per-capita murder rate is ranked 28th in the U.S. While it may be higher than other big cities like New York or Los Angeles, this does not mean it is one of the most dangerous in the country. In fact, according to that same CBS article, another Illinois city was more dangerous than Chicago. Peoria, Illinois, was ranked at 15 in per-capita murder rate.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2023/01/31/report-ranks-americas-15-safest-and-most-dangerous-cities-for-2023/?sh=73fad2d3309a

https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/murder-map-deadliest-u-s-cities/52/

Answer 6

This claim is correct. According to World Population Review, Chicago has the 10th highest murder rate among cities in the United States. Although the claim was asked in 2023, Milwaukee's murder rate has since dropped, and currently has a lower murder rate than Chicago.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-city-rankings/cities-with-most-murders 

Answer 7

This statement is accurate and well written with a good piece of evidence. It says Chicago is one of the most dangerous and not "the" most dangerous which completley changes the argument being made. According to an article written by ABC about Chicago violence, the cites crime and murder rate have gone down in recent years, though it is still believed there are over 400 murders a year in Chicago alone. 

https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-violence-homicides-year-in-review-crime/14241408/

Answer 8

It is true that Chicago is one of the most dangerous cities in American. According to security.org, Chicago is consistently ranked in the top three for most robberies, rapes, and murder. It is not necessarily ranked as the number, but it is one of the few most dangerous ones. According to PropertyClub, "It constantly makes the news as one of America’s most dangerous and violent cities. With a population of 2,746,388, Chicago has a crime rate of 3,926 per 100,000 people, making it 67% more dangerous than the US average. In 2020, Chicago had 26,620 violent crimes, including 774 murders".

https://www.security.org/resources/most-dangerous-cities/

https://propertyclub.nyc/article/most-dangerous-cities-in-the-us#:~:text=It%20constantly%20makes%20the%20news,violent%20crimes%2C%20including%20774%20murders.

Answer 9

The claim of "one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S." is rather vague. While the exact rankings slightly differ from source to source, most place Chicago somewhere in the mid 20's, and I haven't seen it ranked higher than 20 on any list. To be fair, the 20th most dangerous city is high, but the wording of the claim seems more appropriate for a city in the top 10 or higher. The claim is true but exaggerated.

https://sports.yahoo.com/20-cities-united-states-highest-160029176.html

https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-city-rankings/most-violent-cities-in-america

https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/4366668-these-cities-and-towns-are-most-dangerous-in-the-us-study-finds/

Answer 10

This is an accurate statement as Chicago's murder rate is higher than New York and Los Angeles as shown in the chart from Security.org as also mentioned in the article from the Howard University News Service. While these numbers do fluctuate every year, Chicago does tend to lead the numbers of the murder rate per capita in the United States.

https://www.security.org/resources/most-dangerous-cities/

https://hunewsservice.com/news/is-chicago-americas-most-dangerous-city/