Analysis of criminal activities in Chicago. In drilling the most perilous BEAT, District in the city of Chicago

1. Crime Analysis at Chicago using Tableau
Roshik Ganesan
305641224

2. Dataset:
The dataset taken for analysis is “Crimes 2001 to Present” which deals with the crimes
committed in the city of Chicago from 2001 to till date. The rich data provides us details about all
the crimes except for the murders. Comprising of 60 lakh rows and more than 15 columns this
dataset gives the opportunity to identify various insights for the city of Chicago pertaining to crime.
Data regarding the various types of crimes that are committed (Primary Type), location where the
crime is committed both geographical and also the public location, their corresponding district and
ward number is furnished. Each crime record also consists the specific date, time and the year in
which the crimes are committed which would helpful in analyzing the trend of the crime over the
years. In addition to the location and the district data, this dataset also provides us the BEAT code
(A beat cop is a law enforcement officer who walks, rides, cycles, or drives in a specific
neighborhood that becomes known as his or her “beat.” [1]) which would help in fetching more
accurate perilous locations across the city. The IUCR (Illinois Uniform Crime Reporting) and FBI
code is also provided in addition to the above mentioned data. Summing up all these data very
productive information could be extracted which could help in improvising the safety at Chicago.
Dataset URL: https://data.cityofchicago.org/view/5cd6-ry5g
Data Cleaning:
Missing values:
Before:

3. After:
As the values in the other fields are required for the analysis the records are not deleted,
instead they are fed an “Unknown” with which the analysis can be continued successfully.
Irrelevant data:
Removing the column “Description” as the data is irrelevant to the analysis performed.
Duplicate Records:
Before:

4. After:
Contradicting Values:
Before:
There is no district named 31. The maximum district in Chicago is 25, thus replacing with
the appropriate district based on the Beat Code.
After:
Misfielded Values:
The issue of Misfielded values is not faced with this dataset.

5. Data Visualization:
Top 5 Research Question:
1. Location which are the most Unsafe in Chicago?
The Visualization above gives us a clear insight on the most perilous locations in the city
of Chicago. The total crimes committed from the year of 2001 to 2016 is 6 million of which more
than 1.6 million is reported to have taken place in the streets. This signifies that almost 25% of the
crimes committed is in the streets of Chicago. Another interesting fact to make a note of is the
second dangerous location which is the residence, which constitutes almost 1 million of the entire
crime. With this data, more precautionary measures could be taken to make the places safer.

6. 2. Total arrest made against the total cases registered?
This simple Pie chart gives us the information about the total arrests that are made. This is
an interesting fact to be noted as it states that against the total of 6 million cases registered over
the 16 years only 25% of the cases (i.e) only 1.7 million cases alone are recorded with the criminals
being arrested. Rest of the 75% have recorded the arrest as false which an interesting and
dangerous fact.
3. District recorded with the highest criminal activity?

7. The visualization is done to get more clear insight of which district is recorded with the
most criminal activity. As the dataset, had provided the data of the district number a “calculated
field” has been used to check the district number and to substitute it with a district number and
name. This analysis lets us know that “District 8 Chicago Lawn” has been recorded with the most
crime over the years. This analysis also let’s know the count of the different type of crime that are
committed over the years. This analysis give us a picture that “Theft” is the most committed crime
in almost all the district.
4. Which type of crime is committed the most by year and quarter? And has the crime
reduced or increased over the years?

8. From the above chart, we get to know that the most committed crime of all the time is
Theft. Analyzing the graph based on month and quarter an underlying fact is revealed which states
that the crime rate is generally high in the 3rd quarter. Analyzing more specifically the crime rates
are generally high during the month of august except for battery. All the crimes have always
reduced compared to what it had been in the beginning of the year which states that crime rate has
decreased over the years. A “parameter control” has been given which can be used to change the
years and analysis can be made for each year.
5. Growth or decline of the criminal activities by years?
Analyzing the trend of crime from 2001 to 2016 with the data provided above we can
conclude that the crime rates have fallen over the years. The highest number crimes were
committed in the year of 2002 of about 4.8 million which has drastically reduced over the years to
2.6 million by the year of 2016. There happens to be a 46% decrease in the crime rate from 2001
to 2016. With the help of the “Reference Line” we also get to know that the crime rate of the last
4 years is well below the average crime rate. Based on this fact a forecast has been done to

9. approximately predict the crime rate of the future. This prediction reveals that the crime would
decrease in the upcoming years to a greater extent.
Additional Analysis:
1. Most notorious BEAT in the district with the highest crime rate
Upon analyzing the district with the maximum crimes, further analysis was made on the
most notorious district. District 8 which had recorded the highest crime rate is further analyzed
based on the details of the BEAT. The grouping technique has been used in this analysis where the
BEATS are grouped based on their district except for the district 8. From this analysis, the BEAT
number 823 has been ranked the 1st for being for having committed more number of crimes.
2. Geographic visualization of the criminal activities of “District 8”

10. This visualization is done to bolster the results of the above-conducted analysis. This
analysis gives us the clear picture of which region in the “District 8 Chicago Lawn” has been the
most unsafe location. From the geographical visualization, we can infer that the southeastern part
of the district has the more criminal activities. This bolsters our previous analysis which state that
the wards 823, 825, 831 and 832 have been recorded with the most criminal activities and these
wards fall under the southeastern part of the district. Further with the use of the parameter control
for year and district we will be able to visualize the criminal activities in various districts over each
year.
Dashboard:

11. Storytelling
This analysis of the dataset “Crimes 2001 to Present” of the city of Chicago was done to
get an insight on the criminal activities taking place in the city of Chicago. An initial research was
done which revealed that only a very minimum of information regarding the criminal activity is
available. The article Safe and Dangerous Places in Chicago Lazar, Louie. [3] gives us only a brief
idea on the dangerous and safe localities in Chicago. Moreover, this information is very limited to
a maximum of 5 places. This analysis would help in getting greater insights regarding the criminal

12. activities in the city of Chicago. This analysis commenced with analyzing the criminal activities
over the years. The results of this analysis revealed that over the period of 16 years from 2001 to
2016 the crime rate was at the peak in the year of 2002 with a record high of 4.86 million. It is
visible from this analysis that the crime rate has reduced as a constant rate over the years. The
crime count in the last four years have been well below the average crime count of 16 years. A few
recommendations were also made by the cure violence [4]. The article “The Truth about Chicago
Crime Rates” by Bernstein, David and Isackson, Noah [5] has also mentioned that the crime has
decreased from the year of 2012. The article is also specific in stating that, upon the Police
superintendent Mr. McCarthy taking charge in 2012 the rate of crime has fallen by leaps and
bounds. From this analysis, it is evident that there is a 46% decrease in the crime rate from 2001
to 2016. A forecast of the trend line predicts that the crime count would further reduce making
Chicago more safer. Further research is done on the top 5 crimes which are theft, battery, criminal
damage, narcotics and the other crimes. This analysis brings to light the that the criminal activity
is generally peak in the third quarter. Analyzing in depth reveals the fact that the crime is generally
high during the month of august except for criminal damage. The analysis that is currently
displayed only represents for the year of 2001 which is further segmented into quarter and months,
this analysis allows us to gain a clear idea of the criminal activities in each year. With the help of
the parameter option provided the user can easily fetch the data for every year. This analysis also
brings out another insight that even though there is a decrease in the crime count, theft has always
remained to be the major crime which is committed in all the years. Analyzing so much crime
records made me inquisitive about the most perilous location in Chicago, this made me conduct
the next research which was to find which location has been recorded with the most crime
reporting. This analysis revealed that the streets of Chicago has been the most perilous location all

13. the time. The report shows that about 1.6 million of the crimes are reported to have happened in
the streets of Chicago. This accounts to be almost 25% of the entire crime committed which is 6
million. Following the streets, the next place which has the most crime count is residence followed
by apartments and sidewalk.
As the dataset provided us more information, this analysis was made a little deeper. With the help
of the district numbers furnished in the dataset the corresponding district names were found which
were appended to the district number using the calculated field. When analyzing the data, it was
evident that District 8 “Chicago Lawn” has the highest record of crime consistently. By analyzing
the chart, we find that Theft has been the most committed crime in general, but for district 11
“Harrison” the most reported crime is narcotics. This chart also tells us that the crime count has

14. decreased over the period. Upon analyzing the district with the most crime report with the help of
the BEAT number, analysis was done on district 8 “Chicago Lawn” to discover which BEAT has
caused the most trouble. This simple bar chart with the help of grouping helped us to fetch the
information which was needed. As per the chart the most notorious BEAT in the 8th district
“Chicago Lawn” is BEAT number 823. This BEAT has a crime report of 41,908 is which almost
20% of the entire district crime rate. A geographical analysis was made with the help of the latitude
and the longitude data given. This was done to bolster to the previous analysis and find which
region in “Chicago Lawn” has been reported with maximum crime. Upon plotting we can conclude
that the crime is more predominant in the southeastern part of the district. The final analysis was
done to calculate the total arrest against the total number of cases registered. This gives us an
interesting fact which states that the total count of the arrests made is 1.7 million against the total
number of cases 6 million. This is so interesting because of fact that only 25% of the cases
registered have the criminals arrested which is a very low figure. The article “The truth about
Chicago Crime Rates” [5] give us more information about the issue. In this article, it is discussed
that there are some crimes which are initially reported to be murders are later called to be homicide.
The authors blame the Chicago police department for this fact. However, the same article also
states that there is a decrease in the crime rate which bolsters our analysis. The above analysis
gives us insights on various aspects of the criminal activities in the city of Chicago, we have gained
more information on the most dangerous places in Chicago, the most notorious districts and also
the most notorious BEAT among them. We have also seen how the crime rate have decreased over
the years and the forecast of the crime for the next 5 years. This could be used by the Chicago
police to educate the residents and visitors of Chicago and provide them more safety by
concentrating more in the dangerous areas.

15. References:
1. McMahon, Mary. Mitchell, C and Wallace, O. “What is a Beat Cop” WiseGEEK,
http://www.aol.com/article/2010/08/31/safe-and-dangerous-places-in-chicago/19605029/
2. Cop, Chicago. “Maps” ChicagoCop,
http://chicagocop.com/html/documents_archive/maps.html
3. Lazar, Louie. “Safe and Dangerous Places in Chicago” Aol,
http://www.aol.com/article/2010/08/31/safe-and-dangerous-places-in-chicago/19605029/
4. Cure, Violence. “Program Profile: Cure Violence(Chicago, Illinois)” Crimesolutions,
https://www.crimesolutions.gov/ProgramDetails.aspx?ID=205
5. Bernstein, David and Isackson, Noah. “The truth about Chicago Crime Rates”
Chicagomag, http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/May-2014/Chicago-
crime-rates/