Jersey City violent and non-violent crime rates fall in 2010

Friday, March 04, 2011, 9:46 PM
Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal

Violent and non-violent crime saw a modest overall drop in Jersey City in 2010, continuing the downward trend for a second year, city officials said today.

Violent crimes including homicide, rape, robbery and assault fell by 2 percent in 2010 as compared to the previous year, officials said. That continues a trend seen in 2009 when the city had its lowest incidence of violent and non-violent crime in 30 years, including a 30 percent drop in robberies, officials said.

"If you want to target any crime from a law enforcement perspective, the top priority has to be the public's safety and their health and welfare, Police Chief Tom Comey said. "While we can't be there to resolve every conflict, we hope that during our many interventions in disputes that people understand that there are alternatives than to react violently."

In the non-violent crime category that includes burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft and arson, their was an increase of .5 percent in 2010 as compared to 2009, City Spokesman Stan Eason said. But Eason said that overall, crime was down about .5 percent in 2010.

The non-violent crimes of motor vehicle theft and theft dropped significantly in 2010, Eason said. There was a 4.9 percent drop in car thefts in 2010 as compared to 2009, Eason said.

There was an 11 percent drop in the number of homicides in the city in 2010, during which there were three fewer than the 27 homicides in 2009, Eason said. There were 143 fewer assaults in 2010, a 5 percent drop from the prior year, Eason said.

"Whenever a major city realizes a drop in crime it is significant, and we are pleased to see a continued decline in most crime categories," said Mayor Jerramiah Healy. "These results are due to the hard work of the men and women of the Jersey City Police Department and their leadership, who will continue to work even harder to reduce crime further."

The mayor also credited community and the block associations for their efforts to have residents work together with police.