Quote:
I live a half a mile from you, closer to the water. I have never felt unsafe anywhere around here. I did have to lock my bike up near the municipal courthouse on Summit and I was scared it would get stolen, but other than that I have no problems here. I know the area where you live, and I don't think I would be scared there either.

Are they talking about Hudson County in general or specifically Jersey City?

Who was asked to take the survey?
What questions were asked?
What neighborhoods were visited?

I bet if you went around Newport the responses would be totally different to Greenville or even around Hamiliton Park by the posts on Jclist.

There is no doubt that some neighborhoods are great in HUDSON COUNTY, but my little patch / turf of Hudson is a crap - as I assume other places are too.

HUDSON FEELS SAFE

Thursday, December 27, 2007
By PAUL KOEPP
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Poll: Most trust police, but bias seen

A large majority of Hudson County residents feel safe in their neighborhoods and trust the police, but there are doubts that the county's Finest treat all people the same in this diverse county, the results of a recent Jersey Journal/New Jersey City University show.

Of those surveyed, 81 percent said they feel safe in their neighborhood, while 16 percent said they do not. By a 74 percent to 19 percent margin, people in Hudson said they trust the police in their town.

Asked if they have been a victim of a crime within the past two years, 14 percent said yes and 85 percent said no. Meanwhile, 26 percent said they have friends or family who have been victims of a crime in the last two years, while 71 percent said they do not.

That offers "further evidence" that crime rates in Hudson County, as in most of the country, have been declining in recent years, said NJCU political science professor Fran Moran, one of the poll's authors.

However, 40 percent said the police in their municipality are believed to act with some racial or ethnic bias, compared to 52 percent who said the police are not.

"Our responses can only be read as upsetting for local law enforcement officials," Moran wrote.

But Jersey City Police Chief Tom Comey said he is proud of his force's "efforts to administer justice fairly throughout all the communities."

"The most difficult task we have in police work is in changing perceptions," Comey said.

Indeed, 72 percent of respondents said they are satisfied with the police presence in their neighborhood, against 25 percent who said they aren't. Moran said the discrepancy between suspicions of bias and overall satisfaction with police work can be explained.

"A significant number of people who trust the police to secure their own safety nonetheless recognize that for others, that may not be the case," Moran wrote, adding that most of the people who said police are racially biased are white.