Overall Crime Down in Washington Twp., But Aggravated Assaults Jump in '14

While overall crime has plummeted over the first six months of the year in Washington Township, violent crimes have skyrocketed, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s semi-annual Uniform Crime Report.

According to the report, Washington Township police responded to the same number of simple assaults, 9, in the first six months of the year as it did during the same time frame in 2013.

Burglaries saw a decline, with the forcible entry category dropping from three to one; unlawful entry dropping from two to zero; and attempted forcible entry rising from zero to one.

The township’s largest drop was in the larceny category, dropping from 32 instances in 2013 to just 14 this year.

Where the major uptick occurred, however, was in the aggravated assault area, where seven instances were reported in 2014, against just one last year. That category alone gave the township a 600-percent increase in the violent crime index.

Overall, crime dropped 33-percent, from 48 reports to 32 between last year and 2014.