2016 FBI Crime Report: Burglaries Up In Watchung, Down In Green Brook

WATCHUNG-GREEN BROOK, NJ — Violent crimes declined for Watchung while property crimes increased. versus Green Brook where violent crimes remained about the same and property crimes declined, according to data released by the FBI on Monday.

The information comes from the FBI’s annual report Crime in the United States. The publication is a statistical compilation of offense, arrest, and police employee data reported by law enforcement agencies voluntarily participating in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, according to the FBI.

Violent crimes in Green Brook — robberies, aggravated assault, rape, murder and manslaughter — remained the same overall from three total in 2016, according to the reports. That is the same as three reported in 2015, while 5 were reported in 2014.

In 2016 and 2015, the violent crimes broke down to one robbery and two aggravated assaults versus in 2014 with two rapes, two robberies and one aggravated assault.

In Watchung, violent crimes continued to decline from eight in 2014 to seven in 2015 to one in 2016. In 2016 there was one robbery. In 2015, the violent crimes broke down to one rape, three robberies and three aggravated assaults versus in 2014 with four robberies and four aggravated assaults.

Watch: Violent Crime In The US Increased For The 2nd Year In A Row Last Year

Property crimes overall declined in Green Brook while it increased in Watchung.

For Green Brook: There were 73 property crimes total reported in 2016, down from 88 in 2015. Thefts and larcenies, which make up the bulk of the property crimes, declined from 66 in 2015 to 51 in 2016. There were 90 thefts/larcenies reported in 2014, according to FBI data.

Burglaries fell slightly from 20 in 2014 to 18 in 2015 to 15 in 2016.

Motor vehicle thefts rose slightly from four in 2014 to four in 2015 to 7 in 2016, according to the data.

For Watchung: There were 411 property crimes total reported in 2016, up from 363 in 2015. Thefts and larcenies, which make up the bulk of the property crimes, increased from 352 in 2015 to 392 in 2016. There were 343 thefts/larcenies reported in 2014, according to FBI data.

Burglaries increased from five in 2015 to 12 in 2016. There were 17 burglaries reported in 2014.

Motor vehicle thefts also rose slightly from 4 in 2014 to 6 in 2015 and 7 in 2016, according to the data.

Nationally, the FBI said the 2016 statistics showed an increase in the estimated number of violent crimes, with a 4.1 percent rise when compared with 2015 data. Nationally, property crimes dropped 1.3 percent.

The 2016 statistics show the estimated rate of violent crime was 386.3 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants nationally, and the estimated rate of property crime was 2,450.7 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants. The violent crime rate rose 3.4 percent compared with the 2015 rate, and the property crime rate declined 2.0 percent.

Green Brook's population for 2016 is listed at 7,266, according to the report, an increase of 4 residents from 2015. While Watchung's population for 2016 is 5,925, according to the report, an increase 50 of residents from 2015.

The UCR Program report for 2016 included information from 16,782 agencies across the country, out of 18,481 city, county, university and college, state, tribal, and federal agencies eligible to participate, the FBI said.

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