How safe is Wicker Park and Humboldt Park near Western Ave.? (Chicago: neighborhood, living)

[Works Aero]

wicker park seems pretty safe to me, i dont live there but ive gone out with friends to bars and whatnot there, just full of hipster scene kids and artists generally.

[Lookout Kid]

There's more crime in Wicker Park than you think. But it's not enough that you should avoid living there by any means. Just take the necessary precautions.

My last apartment was in the heart of Wicker Park, and in my last year there the following happened:

1. Attempted break-in at my apartment
2. Major burglary in the apartment behind us (in the same building)
3. A car chase ended as a stolen truck crashed into our front yard, and the perpetrator ran off as the cops chased him with guns drawn
4. Someone decided it would be a good idea to torch a bunch of buildings up and down our alley. A coach house burned along with two garages and the back of an apartment building. A few people lost their homes and cars, including a nice Audi TT.
5. Several large drug busts occurred in the "open air drug market" in our alley.
6. As I pulled my car into the garage off the alley, I routinely saw guys smoking crack.
7. A homeless guy put a water hose into our garden level window box and flooded our bedrooms overnight (we had a duplex down)
8. A neighbor on Wolcott was chased into her garage by a stranger, and the stranger tried to bust down the garage door to get at her. She wouldn't even open the door when the police came she was so terrified.
9. The "Wicker Park Rapist" was busted for some really brutal rapes. He was known for anally raping victims.


I lived near the Damen "L" stop close to the intersection of Evergreen Avenue and Wicker Park Avenue (just a block off of the popular Milwaukee Avenue strip and across from the dog park). I was not on the fringe of Wicker Park by any means. I don't think our crime experience in Wicker Park was typical. We were just unlucky. But the CPD officer who responded to our break-in told us that Wicker Park was one of the worst spots for burglary in the entire city. It's sort of the last outpost west before the real gangland begins, so it's an easy target.

My wife lived in Wicker Park in the 90s and had a lot of crime problems back then, but nothing like what we experienced in our last year there (2005). In fact, we had no problems until that awful year! I also have several friends who were mugged in Wicker Park in the 90s. It's still a little bit rough at times, but you would never know it walking around the seemingly posh neighborhood. In spite of our problems, I really love Wicker Park and wouldn't hesitate to move back there in the future. I would definitely avoid a ground level unit, however!

[Avengerfire]

There have been more than one serial rapists at work in Wicker park in the last few years.

..and here is some proof:

Other rapist still at large, police warn -- chicagotribune.com

Chicago Damen Station Crime Watch

Pair awaiting trial in Wicker Park attacks -- Newsday.com (http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/chi-040323rape2-redeye-story,0,6182547.story - broken link)

http://www.nbc5.com/news/2503183/detail.html

Amazon.com: The Female Fear: The Social Cost of Rape: Margaret T Gordon, Stephanie Riger: Books

[Lookout Kid]

Those serial rapists are occasionally around Lakeview and Lincoln Park as well. But the media seems to cover those neighborhoods more thoroughly.

[j33]

I've lived just south of Wicker Park for over five years (East Village area, south of Division st.) and have had no difficulties whatsoever. However, we did have a kid (gang affiliated teenager) shot on our street last summer, which was pretty sad.

[David Hammond]

Wicker Park, the park itself, still seems to attract alot of vagrants and scumbags and gang-banger types....in addition to strollers and $500 hybrid dogs.

personally, I think the park is scummy and filled with weirdos and transients and hipsters who don't bathe. It doesn't add up when considering housing prices in the neighborhood.

Great dog park though.

[Drover]

Sounds like the manicured conformity of outer suburbia is more your speed.

[Lookout Kid]

Actually, I thought it was the dog park that was scummy and filled with weirdos. Sometimes in the summer the pavement would actually be matted with dog fur, which was just disgusting and had a smell. And the rats loved that place. I never understood the appeal of letting your dog socialize with other dogs on a small triangular patch of pavement!

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by David Hammond

Wicker Park, the park itself, still seems to attract alot of vagrants and scumbags and gang-banger types....in addition to strollers and $500 hybrid dogs.

personally, I think the park is scummy and filled with weirdos and transients and hipsters who don't bathe. It doesn't add up when considering housing prices in the neighborhood.

Great dog park though.

I think this basically means there were dirty hippies sitting on the benches and some black guys playing basketball... yeah real scary!

[lincolnparker]

I carry a taser with me all the time wherever I go