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Offense Category

Other Offenses


What is it?

A catchall category for cases that don’t fit into the other categories, from violating an order of protection to unlawful use of body armor.

What does our data show?

This category includes felony and misdemeanor cases in which the top charge does not fall into the Illinois State Police’s categorized charges or cases in which we were unable to discern which charge the court data referred to.

Charges

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

  • Felony
  • Misdemeanor
Jan 2000Jan 2004Jan 2008Jan 2012Jan 201601500300045006000

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 (412,566).

Black228,352 cases55.35%

Charges by race and ethnicity, men only (317,847).

Black188,859 cases59.42%

Charges by race and ethnicity, women only (61,734).

Black37,907 cases61.40%

Charges by Gender

Charges by gender, all races and ethnicities (412,566).

Male317,847 cases77.04%

Charges by gender, Black alone (228,352).

Male188,859 cases82.71%

Charges by gender, white alone (66,178).

Male51,300 cases77.52%

Charges by gender, Latinx alone (40,631).

Male36,489 cases89.81%

Charges by gender, other or unknown race or ethnicity (77,405).

Male41,199 cases53.23%

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2016