Visitors to Chicago often worry about gun crime. The president certainly does—on August 25th, he called the city “a disaster” and a “killing field” as he threatened to send in National Guard troops. This year however violence is dramatically down. Robberies have fallen a third on last year. The city is on track for its lowest murder rate in more than a decade. Tourist spots have in any case always been largely safe: violence is concentrated in a few rough neighbourhoods. Yet sadly that does not mean there is no risk of visitors becoming victims of crime. It just probably won’t be committed with a gun. When it comes to street theft in Chicago these days, the clipboard is mightier than the Glock 9.