Study: Oak Lawn Less Safe than Half of Places in Illinois

The Village of Oak Lawn was recently ranked No. 165 on a list of safe places in Illinois, according to a study that measured safety in 298 places in the state.

Researchers at ValuePenguin used data from a 2013 FBI crime report and population numbers to calculate crime scores for each of the places included in the study.

Oak Lawn had 142 violent crimes per 100,000 reported crimes, according to the FBI data. The village also had 1,899 property crimes per 100,000 reported. These numbers contributed to Oak Lawn’s crime score of 493, placing it at No. 165 on the list.

Among those ranked, Hawthorn Woods came out on top as the safest place in Illinois, with a crime score of 60. Harvey was the least safe place, with a crime score of 2,409. Near Oak Lawn, Burbank was No. 175, Evergreen Park was No. 216 and Chicago Ridge was No. 264.

The study also found villages in Illinois are generally safer than cities, towns or other municipalities.

Methodology

Researchers standardized raw data from 2013 FBI crime statistics by city, according to ValuePenguin. The data included property crimes such as burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and arson, and violent crimes such as murder/manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

Crimes were measured per 100,000 to consider population. The crime scores were created by weighing violent crime at 90 percent and property crime at 10 percent, ValuePenguin reported. Places were then ranked based on these crime scores.

See the full rankings from ValuePenguin.

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