Elaine Richardson 
 

Before you start looking for new digs, especially if you're prepared to put down a deposit (see "Be Prepared"), it's advisable to check out the crime statistics for the area to which you're considering moving. Of course, easier said than done, for even though the Chicago Police Department provides statistics for index crimes (violent crimes such as murder, criminal sexual assault, robbery and assault and property crimes such as burglary, theft, arson and motor vehicle theft) on their Website www.cityofchicago.org/CAPS/, the information can  be difficult to interpret. 

But, last year the city began offering an online version of the police ICAM (Information Collection for Automated Mapping) system. Available on the homepage at www.cityofchicago.org  (it's under the residents section and is called Citizen ICAM, http://12.17.79.6/), this system allows you to punch in any address and see the reported crimes that have occurred within a mile (you can also search a quarter mile and half mile) of that area in the past ninety days. This way if you have an address or an intersection, you can check out a specific locale before you even look. Or, if you're just checking out a neighborhood, plug in a few of the major intersections and see what comes up.