Crime in East Chicago, Indiana

East Chicago's crime rate

There were 1,295 crimes reported in East Chicago, Indiana in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 4,672 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does East Chicago compare?

East Chicago has one of the highest overall crime rates of any U.S. city. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,489 incidents for every 100,000 people.

East Chicago's overall crime rate is 100% higher than the overall crime rate in Indiana. Statewide, there were 157,660 crimes reported in 2019, or 2,342 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 East Chicago, property crimes account for only about 84% of all offenses.

Property crime is more prevalent in East Chicago than it is nationwide. There were 1,094 property crimes in East Chicago in 2019, or 3,947 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 East Chicago. There were 859 larcenies reported in East Chicago in 2019, or 3,099 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 80 break-ins reported in East Chicago in 2019, or 289 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 East Chicago, meanwhile, there were 155 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 559 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 East Chicago, however, violent offenses account for a larger 16% share of all reported crime.

At 725 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in East Chicago is well above the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in East Chicago reported a total of 201 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 East Chicago. There were 108 aggravated assaults reported in East Chicago in 2019, or 390 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 East Chicago in 2019, a rate of 281 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 8 rapes reported in East Chicago in 2019, or 29 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,815 rapes in 2019, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.

Murder

There were 7 homicides committed in the city in 2019. Adjusted for population, the murder rate in East Chicago is 25.3 murders for every 100,000 people, more than five times higher than the national murder rate of 5 per 100,000 people.

East Chicago compared to other cities in Indiana

East Chicago has a higher crime rate than the vast majority of all comparable cities in Indiana. 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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