Crime in Chicago Heights, Illinois

Chicago Heights's crime rate

There were 804 crimes reported in Chicago Heights, Illinois in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 2,728 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does Chicago Heights compare?

Chicago Heights has a higher overall crime rate than the vast majority of U.S. cities. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,489 incidents for every 100,000 people.

Chicago Heights's overall crime rate is 21% higher than the overall crime rate in Illinois. Statewide, there were 285,545 crimes reported in 2019, or 2,253 for every 100,000 people.

What types of crimes are being committed?

The FBI's crime rate includes seven crime categories: three property crimes -- larceny, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, and four violent crimes -- aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and murder.

Property crime

The vast majority of crimes in America are property crimes, accounting for 85% of total crimes in 2019. In Chicago Heights, however, property crimes account for only about 72% of all offenses.

Property crime is less prevalent in Chicago Heights than it is nationwide. There were 576 property crimes in Chicago Heights in 2019, or 1,955 for every 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, the national property crime rate is 2,110 incidents per 100,000 people.

Larceny

Larceny is by far the most common type of property crime in the U.S. It is also the most commonly committed type of property crime in Chicago Heights. There were 274 larcenies reported in Chicago Heights in 2019, or 930 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 220 break-ins reported in Chicago Heights in 2019, or 747 for every 100,000 residents. For reference, there were 341 reported burglaries for every 100,000 people nationwide in 2019.

Motor Vehicle Theft

Across the United States, the annual motor vehicle theft rate is 220 for every 100,000 people. In Chicago Heights, meanwhile, there were 82 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 278 for every 100,000 people.

Violent crime

Violent crime accounts for a relatively small share of crimes nationwide. These offenses, which are generally more egregious than property crimes, account for about 15% of the nearly 8.2 million offenses reported across the U.S. in 2019. In Chicago Heights, however, violent offenses account for a larger 28% share of all reported crime.

At 774 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Chicago Heights is well above the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Chicago Heights reported a total of 228 violent crimes in 2019.

Aggravated Assault

Aggravated assault is by far the most common type of violent crime reported in the U.S. It is also the most commonly reported violent offense in Chicago Heights. There were 119 aggravated assaults reported in Chicago Heights in 2019, or 404 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is far lower, standing at 250 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people.

Robbery

Robbery is the second most common type of violent crime in America. There were 78 robberies reported in Chicago Heights in 2019, a rate of 265 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 29 rapes reported in Chicago Heights in 2019, or 98 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,815 rapes in 2019, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.

Murder

There were 2 homicides committed in the city in 2019. Adjusted for population, the murder rate in Chicago Heights is 6.8 murders for every 100,000 people, higher than the national murder rate of 5 per 100,000 people.

Chicago Heights compared to other cities in Illinois

Chicago Heights has a higher crime rate than the vast majority of all comparable cities in Illinois. To be considered comparable, a city must have a complete 2019 FBI crime report and population of 5,000 or more.

Here are all comparable cities ranked by total crime rate. Click any bar or city name to see more about crime in that city.

Click here to see a list of all city crime pages.

Click here to see a list of all state crime pages.

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