Smash And Grabs On The Rise Across Chicago
By Chuck Sudo in News on Jul 22, 2014 9:50PM
Have you been a victim of a smash and grab robbery this year? If so, you aren’t alone. DNAInfo Chicago’s Mark Konkol, a recent victim of a smash and grab, submitted a Freedom of Information Act request of police statistics and found over 6,000 smash and grab incidents reported in the first six months of 2014.
Konkol then took that information and plotted it by ZIP code to see where they were happening the most. The 60614 ZIP code, most identified with Lincoln Park, has seen a 15 percent increase in smash and grabs over the same time frame last year. Smash-and-grabs in the 60622 ZIP code rose by 54 percent, with 297 reported. Out south, smash and grabs in Roseland spiked 65 percent over the same time frame in 2013.
Ald. Michele Smith (43rd) told Konkol smash and grabs are one of those easily preventable crimes by simply locking any valuables in the trunk and not the back seat. Smith was the victim of a car break-in in 1979 and has never had it happen again.
"You don't want to blame anybody. People should feel safe [parking their cars], but you've got to know that it's a crime that you don't want to give someone the opportunity to commit."