Report: Overall Decrease in Crime in Gloucester Township

Gloucester Township saw decreases in both violent and non-violent crime contribute to an overall decline from 2012 to 2013, according to the the 2013 Uniform Crime Report released by the Department of Law and Public Safety on Friday.

Crime in New Jersey decreased by 7 percent from 2012 to 2013, the most recent year for which total numbers were available. Preliminary numbers for 2014 reflect a 7.7 percent decrease in overall crime and a 9.6 percent drop in violent crime compared to 2013.

The total crime index in Gloucester Township decreased from 1,795 in 2012 to 1,594 in 2013, according to the report.

Gloucester Township saw decreases in both violent and non-violent crime.

Incidents of violent crime decreased from 210 incidents reported in 2012 and 190 reported in 2013. However, this included two murders reported in 2013, compared to zero the previous year.

There were also more rapes in 2013, with nine reported compared to seven the prior year, according to the report.

The decreases came in the areas of robbery (35 down from 41) and aggravated assault (144 down from 162).

Non-violent crime was down across the board:

• Burglary was down from 398 incidents to 321;
• Larceny thefts were down from 1,084 to 1,050;
• There were 33 motor vehicle thefts in 2013, and 63 in 2012.

Arson was down from nine incidents in 2012 to eight in 2013.

There was an increase in police officers, from 108 to 114. This included an increase from five men to six, and 19 women to 20, and 132 civilians to 140. The total estimated population was 64,406 in 2013.

The full report is available here.