Hold on. This isn't necessarily bad news. It will encourage more people to take public transportation, which will boost the aggravated battery numbers (their languishing).
Murders are down slightly. Hey that's good news!
Car thefts are spiking in dozens of U.S. cities, including Chicago.
Why it matters: The mirrored data suggest our crime patterns could have roots and solutions outside our city limits.
By the numbers: Chicago's vehicle thefts have more than doubled compared to this time last year.
Nationally, they rose around 34% from the same time last year, Axios' Ivana Saric reports from a midyear report released this month by the Council on Criminal Justice.
Between the lines: It's likely that the surge in Kia and Hyundai thefts — which came on the heels of a TikTok trend showing users how to steal those cars — have fueled much of the increase, the report said.
The report, however, noted that theft rates were already rising before those brands became popular targets.
Of note: Cases of "motor vehicle theft" — when a car is stolen without the owner present — exclude carjackings, which are tracked in a different category.
Local carjackings have fallen dramatically since last year.