Hoboken Police Release 2020 Crime Stats, Note Pandemic Effect

HOBOKEN, NJ — Violent crime and aggravated assaults declined in Hoboken for 2020, but nonviolet crime and thefts are up, according to 2020 crime statistics released by the Hoboken police last week. Chief Ken Ferrante said that the increase in theft and burglary could be attributed to the pandemic — in part because the perpetrators have remained out of custody.

Such non-violent crimes are up 14.6 percent, he said.

"Those [theft] numbers could be attributed to unemployment, the pandemic’s economic issues, shoplifting, package thefts," he said, "and the fact that most of these [suspects were] charged on summonses and many of the cases have not been brought to courtrooms yet due to the pandemic, so there are high rates of recidivism."

Ferrante said, "The positive news is the major decrease in violent crime (down 16.4 percent), helped by the 20.6 percent decrease in aggravated assaults."

The year's one homicide occurred in August, with a 22-year-old Willingboro man charged.

Regarding the two listed rapes in the below chart, Ferrante said that there are a number of reasons the public might not have been told. The incident might have been domestic violence or in a child abuse setting, or the case had to be kept confidential for another reason. "If there is a randomness to the sexual assault and we believe we have a predator on the loose, we would definitely put out a BOLO [be on the lookout] to the public," he said. He noted that the county prosecutor's office handles most sexual assault investigations.

The statistics are as follows:

Read other recent Hoboken police news here:

• Hoboken Police Charge Man After Business Is Robbed
• Hoboken Police Charge Man After Tires Slashed On 12 Cars

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