Crime Is Dropping Big Time In Newark, Officials Say

NEWARK, NJ — Newark residents are finding jobs and local police are making efforts to work with the community. The result? A big drop in crime, officials say.

Joined by several of the top law enforcement leaders in New Jersey, Newark officials announced that the Brick City has made huge strides in reducing crime over the past few years during a press conference on Thursday. (See video below)

Newark saw a 15 percent decrease in overall crime for 2018, the fourth straight year it’s dropped, officials said. Other stats released by the city include:

• A 35 percent drop in robberies, resulting in 384 fewer victims, and a 6 percent decrease in violent crimes last year when compared to 2017
• Homicides fell 4 percent in 2018 over 2017 figures
• Property crimes also decreased by 18 percent during 2018 versus 2017, with the biggest decline in carjackings, which fell by 56 percent last year over 2017
• Burglaries decreased 30 percent over the previous year, and thefts from vehicles fell 16 percent during the same period. Car thefts also fell by 16 percent last year versus 2017.
• During 2018, police recovered 566 firearms, a 3 percent increase over 2017 and a 13 percent increase of recovered illegal guns since 2013.
• Last year, Newark saw a 30 percent reduction in the number of shooting victims versus 2017

Crime stats didn’t drop across the board. For example, the city saw an increase in aggravated assaults of 14 percent during 2018. But even in that data there was a silver lining, officials said: fewer of those incidents involved firearms.

Officials said that the following factors were among the reasons for a safer city in 2018:

• A “significant reduction of unemployment” in Newark
• Collaboration with law enforcement partners on federal/state/county levels
• Collaboration “with the people of Newark themselves” (including increased assistance from concerned citizens who report crimes using the Newark Police Division smartphone app and who participate in the city’s Citizen Virtual Patrol)
• During 2018, the Newark Police Department opened two new precincts: the 6th Precinct was opened in April in the Vailsburg section of the city, and the 7th Precinct was opened in November in the Roseville section

In addition, body-worn cameras were deployed to all seven precincts last year and the Citizen Virtual Patrol, which gives the public access to the city’s surveillance cameras, grew from 62 cameras when launched last April, to 126 with nearly 8,000 registered subscribers by year’s end. Newark saw a 4 percent reduction in crime in areas where the cameras are deployed, officials said.

“Seeing a decrease in the number of shooting victims along with fewer robberies and carjackings are positive results that I’m grateful for,” Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said. “While Chief of Police Henry and I recognize that there’s still work to do, these accomplishments show that our police officers are putting forth a tremendous effort to reduce crime in our neighborhoods.”

“I commend the men and women of the Newark Police Division for these positive 2018 crime stats,” Mayor Ras Baraka said.

• See related article: Newark Plans To Give 75 Ex-Cons Jobs, Healthcare To Fight Murder Rate
• See related article: Don't Believe The Cynicism, Newark Is On The Rise: Mayor

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Photo: Newark police graduation, Dec. 20, 2018 (Newark Department of Public Safety)