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Section I Section II Section III Section IV Section V Section VI
           
Section VII Section VIII Section IX Section X Section XI Section XII

           

SECTION VI

CRIME IN THE CITIES





CRIME IN THE CITIES


 

This section deals with serious crimes reported in the large urban cities of the state. These cities represent 19 percent of the population and historically account for one third of the reported Crime Index of the state.

This analysis involves the latest ten-year period 1991-2000 and endeavors further to identify crime trends in these urban areas.

The cities included in this analysis were initially categorized as urban municipalities (i.e., densely populated with extensive development) by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, Division of State and Regional Planning, Bureau of Statewide Planning, and will continue to be used for comparative purposes.

The criteria used in the selection of these cities were (1) classified as urban character and (2) have a population of 50,000 or more inhabitants.

For further comparative analysis, the urban cities were subdivided into two distinct groupings.

Group number one consisted of the state's six largest urban centers with populations of 80,000 or over and is categorized as "Major Urban."

The second group included the "Major Urban" and the additional urban communities with populations of 50,000 or more inhabitants, and is referred to as the "Urban 15."

 

"MAJOR URBAN"

• Camden City • Jersey City • Paterson City

• Elizabeth City • Newark City • Trenton City

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"URBAN 15"

 

• Bayonne City • Elizabeth City • Paterson City

• Camden City • Irvington Town • Trenton City

• Clifton City • Jersey City • Union City

• Dover Twp. • Newark City • Vineland City

• East Orange City • Passaic City • Woodbridge Twp.

 
The accompanying table reflects percent changes in the state's "Major Urban" and "Urban 15" municipalities Crime Index for the years 1991/2000.

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STATE AND URBAN CRIME INDEX OFFENSES

Percent Change 1991/2000


NEW JERSEY "MAJOR URBAN" "URBAN 15"
Population 1991 7,730,188 930,818 1,538,864
2000 8,414,350 948,698 1,597,860
Percent Change 9 2 4
TOTAL CRIME INDEX 1991 421,663 108,843 152,312
2000 265,840 60,078 88,698
Percent Change -37 -45 -42
Violent Crime 1991 49,119 23,160 29,369
2000 32,276 12,188 17,460
Percent Change -34 -47 -41
Nonviolent Crime 1991 372,544 85,683 122,943
2000 233,564 47,890 71,238
Percent Change -37 -44 -42
Murder 1991 410 186 232
2000 288 144 182
Percent Change -30 -23 -22
Rape 1991 2,261 691 979
2000 1,352 366 506
Percent Change -40 -47 -48
Robbery 1991 22,728 12,603 15,722
2000 13,550 5,659 8,066
Percent Change -40 -55 -49
Aggravated Assault 1991 23,720 9,680 12,436
2000 17,086 6,019 8,706
Percent Change -28 -38 -30
Burglary 1991 78,859 20,609 29,363
2000 43,934 10,024 15,114
Percent Change -44 -51 -49
Larceny-Theft 1991 221,817 34,329 53,253
2000 155,480 24,233 37,695
Percent Change -30 -29 -29
Motor Vehicle Theft 1991 71,868 30,745 40,327
2000 34,150 13,633 18,429
Percent Change -52 -56 -54

* Less than one-half of one percent.
 

Percent Change

  • During the ten-year period 1991/2000, the Crime Index in New Jersey has decreased 37 percent, while the "Urban 15" cities decreased 42 percent and the six major urban cities decreased 45 percent.
  • Violent crime in the state decreased 34 percent, the 15 urban cities decreased 41 percent and the six major cities decreased 47 percent.
  • Nonviolent crime in the state decreased 37 percent, the "Urban 15" decreased 42 percent and the six major cities decreased 44 percent.
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CRIME IN THE CITIES

TEN YEAR SUMMARY

COMPARATIVE CRIME INDEX DISTRIBUTION FOR STATE AND URBAN CITIES

1991-2000


NEW JERSEY MAJOR URBAN URBAN 15
CRIME INDEX TOTAL 3,449,112 858,819 1,213,258

Percent Distribution

24.9 35.2
Violent Crime 426,773 191,349 248,748
Percent Distribution 44.8 58.3
Nonviolent Crime 3,022,339 667,470 964,510
Percent Distribution 22.1 31.9
Murder 3,594 1,829 2,216
Percent Distribution 50.9 61.7
Rape 18,849 5,683 7,957
Percent Distribution 30.2 42.2
Robbery 192,153 98,771 126,925
Percent Distribution 51.4 66.1
Aggravated Assault 212,177 85,066 111,650
Percent Distribution 40.1 52.6
Burglary 642,413 170,134 240,178
Percent Distribution 26.5 37.4
Larceny-Theft 1,893,674 304,034 467,315
Percent Distribution 16.1 24.7
Motor Vehicle Theft 486,252 193,302 257,017
Percent Distribution 39.8 52.9
 

Distribution:

  • Six major urban centers--Camden, Newark, Jersey City, Trenton, Paterson and Elizabeth--collectively represent 11 percent of New Jersey's total population. These same urban centers, during the period 1991 through 2000, accounted for 25 percent of the state's total crime.
  • "Major Urban" centers from 1991 through 2000 accounted for 45 percent of all violent crime and 22 percent of the nonviolent crimes in the entire state.
  • The 15 urban municipalities represent 19 percent of the state's total population.
  • "Urban 15" municipalities accounted for 35 percent of New Jersey's total Crime Index. Violent crime was 58 percent of the state total, while nonviolent crime was 32 percent of the state total during this ten-year period.
  • Nearly seven out of every 10 robberies reported occurred in the "Urban 15" cities during this ten-year period.
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STREET CRIME


There has never been a clear-cut definition for street crime within the criminal justice system. The nation's clearinghouse for the collection and dissemination of criminal statistics, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has no criteria in the categorization of specific crimes to be designated or defined as "street crimes." More and more this media term has been confused with the violent crime group of murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.

Although any particular crime can and does occur on the street, this analysis, because of reporting constraints within the Uniform Crime Reporting System, is limited to defining street crimes as those offenses which occur, or are most likely to occur, on streets, highways, parking lots, etc.. These crimes include highway robbery, purse-snatching, theft from autos, theft of auto parts and accessories, theft of bicycles, and motor vehicle thefts. All are crimes against property and only one, highway robbery, falls in the violent crime group.

  • During the ten-year period 1991-2000, the "Urban 15" cities accounted for 41 percent of the street crimes in the state.
  • Three out of every four highway robberies occurred in the "Urban 15" during the ten-year period.
  • More than half of all motor vehicle thefts during the survey span occurred in these 15 urban municipalities.
  • Forty-four percent of all purse-snatchings were perpetrated in the "Urban 15" cities.
  • The street crime categories of highway robbery, and larceny of bicycles , were at their lowest levels during 2000, in this ten-year period.

The accompanying table reflects percent distribution of street crime for the "Urban 15" cities for the years 1991-2000.

 
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STREET CRIME TRENDS

"URBAN FIFTEEN" MUNICIPALITIES


STREET CRIME 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 TOTAL Percent
of
StateTotal
Highway Robbery 12,674 12,386 12,887 12,781 12,380 9,647 8,280 7,093 6,669 6,231 101,028 75.4
Purse Snatching 1,919 1,832 1,746 1,377 1,116 826 658 600 486 499 11,059 43.6
Larceny from Motor Vehicle 12,316 11,460 10,744 12,173 14,381 12,977 12,387 12,107 11,295 10,789 120,629 29.2
Larceny of Motor Vehicle Parts & Accessories 11,770 10,894 9,511 8,118 7,818 6,831 6,114 4,777 3,871 3,919 73,623 39.4
Larceny of Bicycles 1,949 1,740 1,963 2,169 2,164 1,805 1,928 1,768 1,677 1,464 18,627 11.4
Motor Vehicle Theft 40,327 35,929 29,667 26,824 26,263 23,398 20,499 17,212 18,469 18,429 257,017 52.9
TOTAL 80,955 74,241 66,518 63,442 64,122 55,484 49,866 43,557 42,467 41,331 581,983 41.3
Percent of State "Street Crime" Total 43.0 43.5 42.2 41.8 41.4 39.6 39.2 38.5 40.0 41.8 41.3 -

"URBAN FIFTEEN" PROFILES

Municipality Year Population Crime Index Violent Crime Non- Violent Crime Murder Rape Robbery Aggravated Assault Burglary Larceny-Theft Motor Vehicle Theft Total Police Officers Total
Police Employees
1999 83,546 7,283 1,813 5,470 24 59 746 984 1,497 2,622 1,351 387 443
Camden City 2000 79,904 6,520 1,668 4,852 24 69 670 905 1,177 2,515 1,160 403 463
                           
1999 267,823 22,450 4,984 17,466 70 114 2,497 2,303 3,117 8,984 5,365 1,451 1,641
Newark City 2000 273,546 20,705 4,182 16,523 59 107 1,977 2,039 2,787 8,229 5,507 1,398 1,598
                           
1999 232,429 13,596 3,319 10,277 15 79 1,550 1,675 2,574 5,335 2,368 899 1,040
Jersey City 2000 240,055 12,579 2,885 9,694 18 74 1,245 1,548 2,474 4,779 2,441 871 1,023
                           
1999 84,494 6,531 1,256 5,275 8 58 567 623 1,424 2,776 1,075 374 429
Trenton City 2000 85,403 6,599 1,375 5,224 14 74 629 658 1,373 2,731 1,120 360 417
                           
1999 148,212 6,553 1,210 5,343 13 34 572 591 1,572 2,429 1,342 436 504
Paterson City 2000 149,222 6,444 1,205 5,239 17 24 580 584 1,307 2,601 1,331 430 516
                           
1999 110,661 7,270 939 6,331 9 19 621 290 1,027 3,282 2,022 327 414
Elizabeth City 2000 120,568 7,231 873 6,358 12 18 558 285 906 3,378 2,074 355 456
                           
1999 55,484 3,164 389 2,775 - 16 160 213 597 1,995 183 137 155
Vineland City 2000 56,271 3,070 407 2,663 - 9 170 228 595 1,880 188 139 160
                           
1999 69,598 5,055 1,188 3,867 12 52 606 518 772 1,948 1,147 265 300
East Orange City 2000 69,824 5,064 1,226 3,838 12 50 609 555 769 2,033 1,036 279 310
                           
1999 57,752 5,812 1,584 4,228 15 41 789 739 1,380 1,460 1,388 172 195
Irvington Town 2000 60,695 5,130 1,584 3,546 12 40 798 734 1,056 1,150 1,340 162 184
                           
1999 61,051 1,411 198 1,213 2 4 74 118 250 787 176 228 260
Bayonne City 2000 61,842 1,360 171 1,189 1 2 67 101 199 775 215 237 271
                           
1999 57,621 2,375 321 2,054 1 17 181 122 596 927 531 176 209
Union City 2000 67,088 2,420 321 2,099 2 10 173 136 547 987 565 194 233
                           
1999 95,659 3,458 371 3,087 1 17 87 266 522 2,155 410 198 242
Woodbridge Twp. 2000 97,203 3,593 347 3,246 1 8 81 257 530 2,331 385 192 236
                           
1999 86,700 2,664 178 2,486 1 13 47 117 474 1,898 114 134 166
Dover Twp. 2000 89,706 2,589 162 2,427 2 7 41 112 467 1,849 111 136 172
                           
1999 76,180 2,535 174 2,361 1 8 86 79 428 1,514 419 150 176
Clifton City 2000 78,672 2,290 220 2,070 1 6 108 105 408 1,319 343 144 170
                           
1999 60,817 3,184 669 2,515 4 6 270 389 694 1,243 578 155 173
Passaic City 2000 67,861 3,104 834 2,270 7 8 360 459 519 1,138 613 164 187
                             
"URBAN 15" 1999 1,548,027 93,341 18,593 74,748 176 537 8,853 9,027 16,924 39,355 18,469 5,489 6,347
TOTALS 2000 1,597,860 88,698 17,460 71,238 182 506 8,066 8,706 15,114 37,695 18,429 5,464 6,396
 
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