Arson reports in Los Angeles vs Chicago
Los Angeles police open data in this index include 828 incidents coded as Arson. Chicago Police Department records include 665 incidents with the same primary-type label. Combined they are 1,493 arson-coded rows. Los Angeles holds about 55.5% of the pair; Chicago holds about 44.5%. The gap is 163 reports. These are fire-related police incidents as filed, not fire-marshal case closings and not a ranking of which city is safer.
Key figures
- Los Angeles has 828 arson-coded reports; Chicago has 665.
- The paired total is 1,493 (about 55.5% / 44.5%); the gap is 163 rows.
- Low-count types make percentage comparisons brittle.
- These are police incident labels, not a unified fire-cause census.
- Both figures are reports, not convictions, and not a safety ranking.
Arson as a two-department join
The join keeps primary type Arson and places Los Angeles (828) beside Chicago (665). Arson in both feeds is typically the intentional burning of property. Investigation units, fire-department referrals, and “undetermined origin” handling differ by city. An incident can sit on the police file before a fire investigator writes a cause. This page uses the police open-data label, not a unified fire-cause census.
About 55.5% versus about 44.5% of 1,493 paired rows is a moderate split. On a low-count type, a few dozen events move the percentage. Do not treat 163 extra Los Angeles rows as a structural finding about either city.
Los Angeles’s 828 arson incidents
The Los Angeles total is 828. LAPD arson rows may include occupied structures, vehicles, and outdoor property depending on how the officer coded the event. This packet has no those splits, so no vehicle-arson subtotal is quoted. Location is typically a block range.
See arson in Los Angeles and the Los Angeles crime hub. A police incident is not a conviction and not an insurance determination.
Eight hundred twenty-eight Los Angeles rows and 665 Chicago rows should be footnoted as police Arson labels. Do not collapse them with criminal-damage or criminal-mischief types. Combined they are 1,493 for this pair only.
Chicago’s 665 arson incidents
The Chicago total is 665. IUCR arson is a distinct primary type from criminal damage and from burglary. Some fires that residents call arson may be filed as criminal damage if the officer did not record an incendiary finding. Official community area names are Chicago’s 77 areas; this join has no area table.
See arson in Chicago and the Chicago crime hub. LocalCrimeVault does not recode CPD rows into LAPD categories.
Low counts, high sensitivity to coding
828 and 665 are small relative to burglary or robbery harvests on this site. Small totals make percentage stories brittle. A coding change, a harvest-window difference, or a cluster of vehicle fires can swing 163 rows. This page does not rank Los Angeles and Chicago on fire crime.
Correlation is not causation. Population is not a packet fact, so no per-capita rate is computed. Cite the agency and the Arson primary type when you quote either number.
Reports, investigations, and courts
Neither 828 nor 665 is a convicted-arsonist count. Fire-cause determinations can lag the incident row. Arrest flags are not verdicts. All crime ties lists other type comparisons.
Keep LAPD / City of Los Angeles open data named for 828 and Chicago Police Department named for 665.
Fire files that are not this arson pair
LAPD and CPD arson rows are police incidents. Los Angeles Fire Department and Chicago Fire Department cause files, if you need them, are separate systems. An “undetermined origin” fire may never become an Arson primary type. A vehicle fire may be arson on one feed and criminal damage on the other. This page does not merge those neighboring labels into 828 or 665.
Occupied-structure versus vehicle versus outdoor-property splits are not packet facts. Combined the pair is 1,493 rows (Los Angeles about 55.5%, Chicago about 44.5%). The 163-row gap is large as a percentage of a low-count type and small as an absolute number next to burglary harvests on this site. Percentage stories on 828 and 665 are brittle.
Cite LAPD / City of Los Angeles open data for 828 and Chicago Police Department for 665. Keep both names. Arrest is not conviction. Insurance determinations are not this table. Use arson in Los Angeles, arson in Chicago, the two city hubs, and all crime ties.
A later fire-marshal report can change a cause without rewriting the police incident row. That lag is why 828 and 665 should be cited as police labels, not as closed incendiary investigations. Combined they are 1,493 rows. Keep LAPD named for Los Angeles and Chicago Police Department named for Chicago. LocalCrimeVault does not merge fire-department files into this join.
Questions
- How many arson reports in Los Angeles vs Chicago?
- This index includes 828 Los Angeles arson-coded incidents and 665 Chicago incidents. Combined they are 1,493 rows. Los Angeles is about 55.5% of the pair; Chicago is about 44.5%. These are police reports, not convictions.
- Is Los Angeles more dangerous than Chicago for arson?
- This page does not rank cities as safer or worse. 828 and 665 are harvest counts from different municipal feeds. A 163-row gap on a low-count type is not a fire-risk score.
- Are these arson totals from the fire department?
- They are police open-data incident rows labeled Arson. Fire-marshal or fire-department cause files are separate systems. This page does not merge those files.
- Do the arson numbers include convictions?
- No. They are municipal police reports. An arrest is not a conviction. LocalCrimeVault does not convert reports into court outcomes.
Municipal open-data police reports (not convictions). City feeds differ in coverage and coding — counts are not a safety ranking.