The Naperville Police Department (NPD) has released the 2023 Crime and Incident Data report, with approximately 65% of the reported crimes classified as property; such as theft, fraud, and vandalism.
Property crimes make up most of the Naperville Crime & Incident Data Report
The NPD says that property crimes increased by almost 8% in 2023, and that includes shoplifting, which increased from 243 incidents in 2022 to 383 in 2023. Burglary also went up from 84 incidents in 2022 to 111. Of the burglary cases, 57 were reported at commercial properties, and 51 were at residential properties.
Homes were unlocked or unsecured in 67% of the residential burglary cases. However in commercial burglaries reported, just 23% were believed to be unsecured.
After 303 reports of burglaries to motor vehicles in 2020, the number has dropped and stayed consistent throughout the years, with 145 reports in 2021, 137 in 2022, and 140 in 2023. The NPD says that in 2023, 78% of the reports of burglaries to motor vehicles came from cars that were unlocked at the time they were broken into.
Motor vehicle thefts climbed from 50 in 2022, to 81 in 2023, with the NPD saying that 35 of the reported thefts were Hyundai and Kia thefts, which were connected to the Kia Boys trend on social media.
Theft of motor vehicle parts dropped from 223 in 2022 to 41 in 2023, after the NPD encouraged residents to protect their catalytic converters.
Fewer cases of crimes against persons in 2023
Crimes against persons made up approximately one-quarter of the total crimes reported, and the NPD says that there were fewer crimes against persons reported in 2023 compared to 2022. About 94% of the reported crimes against persons sit in the categories of intimidation and simple assault.
There were 737 reports of simple assault, with domestic batteries making up nearly 80% of those. 29 criminal sexual assaults were reported, after 30 in 2022.
“While it does not minimize the seriousness of this crime, we feel it is important for the community to know that none of the reported incidents involved an unknown person randomly attacking individuals on the streets of our community,” says the Naperville Police Department in a press release. “In the majority of the cases reported in 2023, the victims knew or were somehow acquainted with the offender.”
The Naperville Crime and Incident Report also includes no murders for 2023.
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