Crime still haunts New Jersey's cities and finds its victims in the suburbs. But latest quarterly report by the State Police, released last week, shows the overall index of major crimes—homicide, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft—fell by 14.2 percent from the first nine months of 2015, compared with the same period last year, continuing a downward trend for the state.
TRENTON--Cops and robbers were on center stage in the political arena this week, as President Barack Obama visited New Jersey to call attention to programs returning ex-cons to society, and Gov. Chris Christie visited Camden to talk about the drop in violent crime there.
"There are people who have gone through tough times, they've made mistakes, but with a little bit of help, they can get on the right path," Obama said at Rutgers University School of Law. "It's not too late."
Christie, meanwhile, took time off the campaign trail where he is running for the Republican nomination for president, to make a counterpoint in Camden, where the city disbanded its beleaguered police force two years ago and replaced it with a county-run department.
"Camden and the way you are working with your community is a symbol, a model for our country in the middle of a national discussion about how law enforcement should be done in America," Christie said in a speech to officers.
Crime, though, remains a serious problem in Camden and elsewhere. An analysis by NJ Advance Media of urban violence shows that Camden, despite its gains, remains the state's most dangerous, based on the number of serious crimes population.
Still, crime has indeed dropped significantly in New Jersey.
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The latest quarterly report by the NJ State Police, released last week, shows the overall index of major crimes--homicide, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft--fell by 14.2 percent from the first nine months of 2015, compared with the same period last year.
Year-to-year, crime rates fell in all categories from 2013 to 2014, except for rape, where a change how some sexual assaults are now reported has increased the number of reports.
Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.