The increase in sexual assaults may because more victims are reporting the crimes to law enforcement agencies.
TRENTON -- Crime declined in New Jersey last year but the number of rapes reported by law enforcement agencies in the state rose sharply, according to statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Monday.
The more than 23,300 violent crimes in New Jersey last year represented a 9.3 decline overall in murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults compared to 2013, the data from the FBI's annual "Crime in the United States" report shows. The state's violent crime rate also fell to 261 offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than the rates in neighboring New York and Pennsylvania, as well as the nation as a whole.
Wayne Fisher, a criminal justice professor at Rutgers University and the former chairman of the New Jersey Police Training Commission, said the reduction in violent crime "continues a trend that we've seen when it comes to New Jersey and again New Jersey is reflective of the entire region and to some extent the entire nation."
But Fisher noted that's it important not to make broad conclusions based on statewide data.
"There is important differences when you go from region to region in our state and from municipality to municipality," he said.
While the FBI report offers some insight into crime at the local level, State Police release a more comprehensive report on an annual basis. The most recent report, which was released in April, showed a 7 percent drop in crime in 2013 but an uptick in murders, more than half of which occurred in the state's six major cities.
The number of murders in New Jersey dropped to 349 in 2014, according to the report, down from 404 the previous year. The state's murder rate also fell to 3.9 per 100,000 residents, a nearly 14 percent drop from 2013.
Newark, the state's largest city, accounted for 93 of the murders in the state in 2014. Though that was the highest number of murders in the state, it represented a decline from the number of murders recorded in the city in 2013.
MORE: Declines in Newark, Camden drive N.J. homicides to 5-year low in 2014
The number of rapes in New Jersey, meanwhile, spiked in New Jersey in 2014, according to the FBI report. The FBI revised its definition of rape in 2013 to include male victims, as well as "various forms of sexual penetration understood to be rape," including nonconsenting acts of sodomy and sexual assaults with objects.
The FBI said in a statement that the 2014 report includes estimates based on both definitions of rape and that due to a programming oversight some estimates may be higher or lower than anticipated in some instances. While the oversight predominantly affected estimates for New York, the statement said it "may have a slight impact on estimates for other states as well."
The number of rapes in New Jersey jumped by 7.1 percent in 2014 to 1,274 under the revised definition. New Jersey saw a 10.7 percent rise in rapes under the old definition. The rate of rape also increased by both definitions.
Patricia Teffenhart, executive director of the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said rapes and sexual assaults have been historically underreported so, in a way, the increase in the number of reported rapes represents a step forward for advocacy groups.
"It means there are more survivors who are trusting the system, who are reporting a crime," she said, and who will have a chance to seek justice.
Now, Teffenhart said, it is important to make sure advocates and the law enforcement community work together to "support [survivors] in their healing and get these perpetrators hopefully behind bars."
Paul Loriquet, a spokesman for the state Attorney General's office, said in a statement that "we take the increase in reported sexual assaults very seriously, however, we would hope that some of the uptick in reported incidents has to do with increased awareness efforts by law enforcement and the victim advocacy community."
Loriquet noted a new statewide directive that was issued by the Attorney General last year requires longer retention of evidence from medical examinations of sexual assault victims who choose not to initially report the crime.
Crime in New Jersey was otherwise down across the board, including property crimes.
The number of property crimes dropped by 7.5 percent compared to the previous year. The rate of property crimes, including burglaries, larceny-thefts and motor vehicle thefts, also fell to 1,734 offenses per 100,000 residents in 2014.
Property crimes also fell at a regional level and nationwide.
NJ Advance Media reporter Carla Astudillo contributed to this report.
Erin O'Neill may be reached at eoneill@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LedgerErin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
