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Offense Category

Motor Vehicle Offenses


What is it?

Crimes committed with a vehicle commonly used for commercial or personal transportation purposes.

What does our data show?

Motor vehicle offenses include driving under the influence, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, and driving on a suspended or revoked license. The most frequent top charge — more than 50% of the total — was driving under the influence. DUI cases more than doubled from 2005 to 2006, before declining over the next decade. Nearly 30% of motor vehicle offense cases were for driving on a suspended or revoked license.

Charges

Detailed charts are unavailable for charges with fewer than 750 cases.

  • Felony
  • Misdemeanor
Jan 2000Jan 2004Jan 2008Jan 2012Jan 20160100200300400

Race and Gender

This data shows that Black people make up the vast majority of criminal defendants charged in Cook County. Of the more than 3 million criminal cases filed in Cook County between 2000 and 2018, more than 61% were filed against Black people, even though Black people only make up 23% of the county’s population.

Research suggests the disparity has more to do with social inequity than an inherent link between race and criminality. Concentrated poverty in urban areas increases the likelihood of certain violent and property crimes, particularly in under-resourced, racially segregated communities. Black people are the most racially isolated group in Cook County and tend to live in communities where intergenerational poverty and violence, abetted by segregation, disinvestment, and institutionalized racism, have limited opportunities for many.

The disparities in charges also reflect inequities and racial bias in policing. Black people are disproportionately targeted for arrest. These numbers reflect overall trends seen in our era of mass incarceration, driven especially by law enforcement strategies such as Broken Windows policing, stop and frisk, disproportionate stops of Black drivers, and disparities in drug arrests.

Charges by Race and Ethnicity

Charges by race and ethnicity, men and women (40,003).

Black9,122 cases22.80%

Charges by race and ethnicity, men only (36,342).

Latinx16,273 cases44.78%

Charges by race and ethnicity, women only (3,486).

Black1,272 cases36.49%

Charges by Gender

Charges by gender, all races and ethnicities (40,003).

Male36,342 cases90.85%

Charges by gender, Black alone (9,122).

Male7,844 cases85.99%

Charges by gender, white alone (11,574).

Male10,308 cases89.06%

Charges by gender, Latinx alone (16,977).

Male16,273 cases95.85%

Charges by gender, other or unknown race or ethnicity (2,330).

Male1,917 cases82.27%

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2016