"State killings"? It sounds kind of Orwellian or Stalinesque. Couldn't they have used "murder rate"?

State killings at 5-year low but urban figures up a bit
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
By RICK HEPP
NEWHOUSE NEWS SERVICE

The number of murders in New Jersey fell to 381 last year, the lowest statewide total in five years, even as slayings continued to mount in the state's cities.

The so-called "Urban Fifteen" cities catalogued 264 murders - up from 255 the previous year - even though they have less than a quarter of the state's population, according to the annual Uniform Crime Report issued by the State Police yesterday. Essex County recorded the most homicides with 148.

The decrease in the statewide murder total from 427 to 381 came as New Jersey's overall crime rate continued to fall to historically low levels, the report said. There was also a 7 percent drop in the total number of violent crimes, including decreases in reported rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults with a firearm.

"It seems to be that virtually all categories of reported crime have experienced a decrease, and that has to be taken as an encouraging sign," said Wayne Fisher, director of the Police Institute at Rutgers-Newark.

"It's very difficult to point to one thing, if not impossible, and say this is what did it. But we may be seeing the beginning of a return on the measures police departments are taking around the state."

In particular, Fisher pointed to the increased use of visible police patrols in high-crime areas, the greater responsibility and accountability given to officers on the streets, and the push to arrest fugitives as the most likely strategies implemented over the last several years that have had the largest effect.

Those strategies may be on the chopping block in many departments, however, following President Bush's decision this year to reduce by $350 million nationwide the funding for certain federal anti-crime grants. Known as the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, the money pays for local and state drug, gang and fugitive task forces as well as gang prevention efforts, drug courts and prisoner re-entry programs.

Unveiled last year, it seeks to change how police go after gang members, prevent children from falling into the gang life in the first place and help convicts adjust after they leave prison to make sure they don't return to their old routines. It was initiated to address a rise in murders as well as an increase in shootings.

While the number of murders statewide decreased last year, the Uniform Crime Report shows there is still a need to address urban violence. The number of murders in East Orange, Elizabeth, Irvington, Jersey City, Newark and Paterson remained constant, while Camden and Trenton both saw increases in slayings.

The Uniform Crime Report, which compiles statistics from 552 law enforcement agencies, focuses on seven categories of crime: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft.