Property Crimes Down 28 Percent In Brick In 2015, Police Chief Says

BRICK, NJ -- Just how safe is Brick Township?

While articles about crimes often generate a lot of comments and complaints about crime in the township, property crimes have fallen significantly in the township in the last two years, according to figures the township submits via the FBI's Uniform Crime Report.

Brick Township Police Chief James Riccio gave an overview of crime trends in the township during his budget address to the Township Council on Tuesday night, saying the number property crimes -- burglary, theft and criminal mischief -- fell in 2015, while assaults and sexual assaults rose.

A detailed look at the numbers shows property crimes are down significantly -- by more than 28 percent. Riccio supplied the numbers that are reported to the FBI and overall, 1,047 property crime cases were reported in 2015, down from 1,469 in 2014 (28.7 percent) and down from 1,462 in 2013 (28.3 percent).

The biggest drop has been in burglaries, which are down 55.1 percent from 2013, and 26.9 percent from 2014. In 2013, Riccio said, Brick police had 332 burglary cases, but in 2015 it was down to 149.

Theft cases have decreased from 911 in 2013 to 770 in 2015, Riccio said, a decrease of 15.4 percent (thefts rose in 2014 to 938).

Riccio said the number of cases of thefts from motor vehicles -- most commonly occurring when people leave their vehicles unlocked -- was 199 in 2013, rose to 302 in 2014, but dropped to 111 in 2015 -- a one-year decrease of 63.2 percent and down 44.2 percent from the 2013 reports. In 2015, 17 motor vehicle thefts were reported, Riccio said, a decrease from the 20 reported in 2013 and from 25 in 2014.

Fraud cases have remained relatively flat, with 313 reported in 2013, 297 in 2014 and a slight uptick to 318 in 2015, Riccio said.

Criminal mischief cases have fallen steadily, from 335 in 2013 to 302 in 2014 and down to 279 in 2015, he said, a two-year decrease of 16.7 percent.

Assault cases have risen, Riccio said, though only one category -- rape -- has shown a significant increase. In 2015, 12 rapes were reported, compared with 5 in 2013 and 2 in 2014. Riccio said the majority of the rape reports were date rape incidents, where the victim and assailant knew each other.

Non-rape sex offenses have fallen since 2013. Riccio said 23 were reported that year, with 15 sex offense reportsin 2014 and 14 reports in 2015.

Aggravated assault and assault reports have remained relatively flat. In 2015, there were 50 aggravated assaults and 327 assaults reported, Riccio said. That compares with 49 aggravated assaults in 2013 and 46 in 2014, he said, and 317 assaults in 2014 and 327 assaults in 2015.

Arsons have risen, from 2 in 2013 to 7 in 2015, Riccio said.