Crime In West Orange: FBI Data Gives Peek At Long-Term Trends

WEST ORANGE, NJ — West Orange's crime rates increased last year after dropping during the pandemic – but they remain low when compared to previous decades, new federal data shows.

The FBI released its latest Uniform Crime Reporting program results last week, including statistics for West Orange. In addition to data for 2022, the program now includes “trend reports” that analyze data going back nearly 40 years.

The agency cautions that the data isn’t an exhaustive report of all crime that takes place in a city or town, and police departments may have “differing levels of participation” over the years. The FBI also says that the data isn’t an effective way of comparing one municipality to another (some factors to consider include population size, economic conditions, employment rates, local judicial and prison policies, and the “effective strength” of the local police force).

The FBI data breaks down crimes by age, gender, race and ethnicity, as well as other factors such as location, the relationship of the suspect and the victim, and the type of weapon involved. Look up data for an individual town or city here.

VIOLENT CRIME IN WEST ORANGE

According to the FBI, the list of “violent crimes” includes homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

There were 85 violent crimes reported by the West Orange Police Department in 2022 – an increase from the levels seen during the pandemic (59 crimes in 2020). However, West Orange's violent crime total from 2022 was still less than the totals seen in the years before the pandemic (92 crimes in 2019, 91 crimes in 2018).

There were 47,957 people living in West Orange as of last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

When viewed on a longer-term basis, the numbers also show a decline. There were 90 violent crimes reported in West Orange in 1985. That number rose to a high of 154 in 1995, the data shows.

PROPERTY CRIME IN WEST ORANGE

In addition to violent crime, the data shows that West Orange also saw hundreds of property crimes reported last year, including burglaries, larceny-theft and stolen vehicles.

According to the FBI, there were 733 property crimes reported in West Orange in 2022 – up from 683 crimes in 2020, and 673 crimes in 2019.

West Orange's property crime rate has remained relatively steady over the past 10 years, with a high of 843 crimes reported in 2016, the data shows.

However, West Orange's property crime trends have seen a big improvement over the past four decades. There were 1,525 crimes reported in 1985, and a high of 1,654 crimes in 1992, the data shows.

VIOLENT CRIME IN NEW JERSEY

Some of the trends seen in West Orange have also been seen on the state level.

In New Jersey, 543 of 578 law enforcement agencies submitted data for the latest round of the UCR program. Read More: Latest Violent, Property Crime Data For NJ Released By FBI

The state’s violent crime rate was 202.9 per 100,000 people last year: up from 183.5 in 2021. However, New Jersey remains well below the national violent crime rate of 380.7 per 100,000 people (which decreased 1.7 percent from 2021).

Despite the uptick in 2022, New Jersey has been seeing historically low rates of violent crime over the past decade, the FBI data shows.

Earlier this year, a new study ranked New Jersey as the “safest” in the nation for violent crime, citing data from the FBI’s Summary Reporting System and National Incident-Based Reporting System.

The study pointed to two big factors that seemed to help New Jersey score the top spot: gun control and police reform. Read More: NJ Is 'Safest' State In Nation For Violent Crime, New Study Says

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