Quote:

There was a 20 person fight on Monmouth...no arrests made...no report filed = it never happened.

Quote:

Once something is reported and a police report is generated it goes into stats. Even if it's not a crime ie: auto accident and a PD report is generated it goes into the reporting agencies data base that is incorporated into the States data base. This is how our insurance companies know if we had any accidents that we didn't report. I don't think it's that easy to fudge or manipulate these figures once the file number is generated.

I think and not 100% sure but it's my understanding that it's all basically one system that feeds off each other.

:slightly of topic of the OP:

Crime exists there is no doubt about that but IMO the Crime Stat Reporting System needs to be brought up to the next level.

Example:
A Person reports their car stolen. (add one for stolen vehicle in the system)
Car is burned and was found to be intentionally set: (add one for Arson in the system)

1, 2, 3 maybe 4 months later the person who reported the car stolen is now being arrested for either: Arson for Hire, Arson, filing false police reports, etc. Maybe 5 months later he/she is charged for insurance fraud.

The original crime stats for Car Theft and Arson remain in the system. Was that car really stolen?

This type of example is widespread within the reporting system. Insurance fraud is rampant and we rarely hear about the outcome of investigations that aren't violent crimes unless a person was injured or even killed. These types of crimes are in the Auto theft, Robbery, House break ins, and different types of Arson.

The problem (IMO) is due to other agencies, municipalities and different States being involved and the reporting system does not reflect the outcomes of the criminal investigations. These stats remain the same even if it's found that the actual crime reported never happened.

Another Example:
When the AG's office investigates insurance fraud and they are able to indite the person, the person pleads guilty to avoid trial or even found guilty at trial, the original crime on the Crime Stat Reports do not show that the crime never happened or the Arson, theft was done intentionally for the purpose of fraud.


I hope I explained this in a way that it's understandable.
It is a bit confusing....

Anyway~
My 2 cents and it has nothing to do with the elections just my opinions and some facts on the Crime Stat Reporting system nationwide.

Quote:

My point exactly.....

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I agree with you on all of your points except one.Will Healy really be able to be a bartender in Bradley Beach before 2011? Healy does have those convictions from that same town that had been all over the newspaper.I am not sure if that would stop him from getting a bartending job there.Oh well ,much better suited to be mayor here.

he talks about new construction projects -- but no mention of the one's that have stalled on grand street half done with no chance of being fully realized anytime soon.

he talks of being a greener city when there is trash all over the streets, parks and highways

he talks about crime being down and yet people are getting mugged weekly (and that's just what is reported here - god knows what goes un reported)

Healy is a joker who knows that he cant hold down ANY OTHER job of this type.

he will be a bartender in bradley beach before 2011, mark my words. nothing wrong with that, because it's where he should have been all along. he just should have never tried to be a politician.

Healy is an absolute clown. he panders to special interest groups rather than worrying about the hardworking tax payers.

I lived in NYC during the Guiliani years, Now thats a mayor !

Yes I do have an agenda to live in a safe and prosperous city. Is there anything wrong with that agenda?

I am suprised the Jersey Journal did not print the crime statistics so far this year. Every year I can remember them doing an article on how much crime has gone up or down. It is going to be March soon and they still havent printed it. Did I miss it this year or was it never printed? It would be nice if they printed it a few days before the election, at least if they print it late that would be a good time.

I think every crime story should be posted under the subject: "Healy Says Change We Can See-Crime is Down INCIDENT"

Healy made a bold claim only arrogance would lead him to think we would believe it without substantial proof.

If the agenda is to get Healy out of public office, that's an agenda we can all agree on.

I think you have an agenda and that its clear to anyone paying attention.

DUDE,

I guess the truth hurts compared to the Reality about the State of the City

I am not shill for Healy's opponent, nor has he done me personally wrong.

I'm a taxpayer, I vote, I have a right to speak my piece about government, especially when they are not doing a great job.

Dude,

You are a broken record. Are a shill for Healy's opponent or you have been personally wronged by Healy? Seriously, what is your issue?

If you are a shill, don't be so transparent. 37 posts and all of them are the same. Post in a few threads and don't mention Healy or anyone else in government.

I wonder what city Healy is talking about when he mentions crime is down. Perhaps Bradley Beach. Seems nothing Healy says can be related to reality.

Reality is that we are not better off than we were four years ago with a shooting a day and two murders a month, Jersey City streets aren't safer.

Let's face it if you ask the people how safe they feel in Jersey City, I doubt the majority will feel they are safe.

Everything is rosy in Jersey City and Emperor Healy is wearing new clothes. Quote:

same thoughts about the speech
here too!

The Jersey City Independent" Mayor Healy Puts on Rose-Colored Glasses for State of the City Address
By Jon Whiten ? Feb 19th, 2009 ? Category: Lead Story, News, Politics




?There is good news out there, folks, in spite of what you might read in the local paper,? Mayor Healy said as he gave his State of the City address to a packed City Council chambers at City Hall Wednesday night.

In fact, listening to the 50 minute speech, delivered less than three months before the mayoral election, the bevy of politicians, government employees and concerned citizens might have thought that there was no bad news, and that all was hunky-dory in Chilltown.

Healy?s address, which had more in common with a campaign speech than a rigid analysis of the city?s ups and downs, covered a number of areas ? crime, the environment, economic development, affordable housing, taxes and job creation ? in which he?d brought ?change? to Jersey City. But other mayoral candidates disputed the notion that Healy embodies that political buzzword of the moment.

?If this is what he calls change, then we are in trouble,? said Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith.

Dan Levin echoed Smith?s criticism.

?One of the last things that Mayor Healy represents is change,? Levin said, noting that Healy?s been ?entrenched in a one-party political system for most of his career.?

Mayoral candidate Lou Manzo was not available for comment.

Crime

Healy started his speech where he seems to be the most vulnerable ? with crime. He said that under his watch, the police force has increased by more than 100 new police officers to a total of 895 officers, and that he is shooting ?to have a force that is 1,000 officers strong.?

The mayor also touted the new Community Stat program, which teams cops up with community members to provide eyes and ears on the ground. He said that the soon-to-be-constructed JCPD West District building ? financed in part with federal stimulus money ? will be the first new district building to be built in Jersey City in more than 35 years, and that he?d like to build a new North District station as well to serve Journal Square and the Heights.

As was expected, Healy talked about his gun buyback program and the city ordinance that would limit handgun purchases to one per month. (The ordinance was struck down in court, but the NJ Supreme Court has agreed to hear the city?s appeal of that ruling.)

?It is undeniable that Jersey City is becoming safer,? Healy said. ?Violent crime has decreased in Jersey City for the third year in a row.?

But Smith takes issue with Healy?s assertions, saying that residents tell him they do not feel safe.

?Crime is not down,? Smith said. ?It?s up ? especially violent crime.?

Levin agreed. ?While some crimes are down, rape and murder are up,? he said. ?What is worse than rape and murder??

Statistics provided by the Jersey City Police Department also seem to refute the mayor?s claims. While violent crimes did indeed drop from 2005 to 2006 and from 2006 to 2007, they rose from 2007 to 2008. Homicides, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries and larcenies all saw increases in 2008. The only categories of crime that were down were motor vehicle thefts and arsons.

While Levin said he doesn?t blame Healy or the police department for the rise in crime, he thinks the mayor shouldn?t ?gloss over it and say everything?s great while Rome is burning.?

Environment

Healy also talked up his recently-passed green initiatives, saying the state Department of Environmental Protection declared them to be ?the leading green initiatives? in the state. Despite stretching a few facts ? purchasing agents aren?t required to ?purchase only? energy-efficient goods and the legislation doesn?t ?prohibit? the city from buying gas guzzlers, as he said on Wednesday ? the mayor stuck to his usual script, lamenting once again the ?urban tumbleweed? (the ubiquitous plastic bag) and acknowledging the women from Bag the Habit, a Jersey City company that makes fashionable recyclable shopping bags.

The mayor also pointed to the former PPG Industries site on Garfield Avenue as proof that his administration is ?aggressively seeking redress from polluters.? He said that the city has negotiated a settlement ?in principle? for PPG to clean up the chromium-contaminated site, which falls in the area of the Canal Crossing Redevelopment Plan. Healy said on Wednesday that the cleanup will occur on a five-year timetable and that PPG will contribute $1.25 million to the city?s Environmental Trust Fund, but the details of the settlement have not yet been made public.

Sure enough, the very next day state attorney general Anne Milgram announced that the state and the city had come to a settlement with PPG to clean up the site. As part of the agreement, PPG also agreed to complete remediation at 13 chromium-contaminated sites in Jersey City, Bayonne and Weehawken. The city will now seek public comment on the settlement and send it to the City Council for approval.

Development, Jobs and Taxes

Touting Jersey City?s ?investment-friendly atmosphere,? Healy also focused on the many development projects around the city and the jobs they are creating or will create in the future. Over and over, he talked about the city?s Project Labor Agreement, which he helped get passed into law. The legislation requires developers of tax-abated projects that cost more than $25 million to build to have their construction unions hire apprentices who live in Jersey City to work 20 percent of the labor hours.

?Jersey City is prospering, but there?s double-digit unemployment in parts of the city,? Smith countered. ?I intend to do something about that.?

Smith also pointed out that much of the current development was already online before Healy took office in 2004. Levin added that some of the deals made to entice development have been less than ideal. ?It?s questionable whether some of the the new developments will generate revenue at all,? he said.

Healy made much ado about keeping the municipal tax rate stable for the scond year in a row, saying that ?the last thing Jersey City residents need is a property tax increase? during this recession. But Smith said that when you look beyond two years, the tax picture becomes less sunny for city residents. He said taxes have gone up by close to 40 percent, and water and sewage rates have also risen under Healy?s watch.

Levin said that while it is certainly good that property owners won?t have a tax increase this year, he criticized the way the city is preventing a bump from happening ? by counting on the state to pass the controversial pension-fund payment deferral plan. The plan, championed by Gov. Corzine, would allow municipalities to not pay 50 percent of their obligations to the state pension fund this year. Levin criticized it as a ?one-time shot? and noted that the money has to be paid into the fund eventually, which could result in a larger tax increase when the bill finally comes due.

Affordable Housing

Affordable housing was another touchstone of Healy?s speech, with the mayor saying 221 units of affordable housing were completed in 2008, with 369 additional units in construction and 350 more in the ?planning stages.? He also touted the innovative use of Energy Star appliances and LEED certification in building public housing and commended the replacement of ?distressed public housing of last resort? with HOPE VI mixed-income and mixed-use communities.

But he didn?t mention that these replacements are not ?one unit for one unit? deals. At the Gloria Robinson Court Homes, which are replacing the A. Harry Moore towers on Duncan Avenue, the number of housing units is being cut by more than half, from 664 to 326. On the other side of town at the Barbara Place Terrace development on Pacific Avenue, 274 new apartments and 83 senior citizen units are coming online to replace the now-demolished 492-unit Lafayette Gardens complex. The Housing Authority hopes to do the same with the Montgomery Gardens project on Montgomery Street.

Only One Fly in the Ointment

Overall, one can?t really blame Healy only touching on one negative aspect of the city (school test scores) during the nearly hour-long speech. It is campaign season, after all. But does turning what?s supposed to be a realistic look at the city into a stump speech really benefit any of Jersey City?s nearly 250,000 citizens?

Both Levin and Smith think not.

?If we want to manage our problems effectively,? Levin said, ?we need to identify them, acknowledge them and put them on the table.?

Smith added that such actions would go a long way towards creating goodwill among residents.

?People would feel more comfortable knowing that someone is addressing the city?s problems, rather than ignoring them,? he said.

Bonus: Your State of the City Change/Time Ratio

Despite Levin?s observation that Healy said ?change ? so many times I lost count,? the Change/Time ratio for the State of the City address was relatively low, clocking in at one ?change? per 4 minutes 33 seconds. This is a drastically lower rate than we measured on Healy?s two latest campaign ads. Part of the discrepancy can certainly be attributed to maybe half of the address? 50 minutes being occupied by pauses and crowd applause.

+1,000,000.

Yes, Healy crows, everything's great
Friday, February 20, 2009

Everything is rosy in Jersey City. Crime goes down every year. Taxes are stable. Despite the economic crisis, development continues, and hundreds of new jobs have poured into the city.

Do people need affordable housing? There were 221 units of affordable housing available in 2008 and 719 more planned for this year. This city is going green and there are plans to renovate more than a half-dozen parks. Put on your swim trunks because there is even a plan for a Lafayette pool.

This is pretty much the heart of Wednesday evening's State of the City speech by Mayor Jerramiah Healy. The mayor points out there is plenty of good news out there despite what these editorial pages would have you believe.

Here is a question. Have you ever heard a mayor, in an election year, say I can not do this job, I need help? Every administration has a glowing State of the City speech. It is so predictable, this opinion writer wonders why this newspaper still covers it.

Affordable housing has increased? How many rent control buildings have been eliminated over the years, and are still disappearing, because city agencies have failed to tell tenants about their rights? Jersey Avenue is a prime example of negligence where affordable housing has evaporated over the past 10 to 15 years.

There is no reason to go into the question of crime in the city. Every time the mayor says crime has gone down, there is a collective laugh in city homes.

Construction jobs for city residents on the waterfront are a myth. Let us not talk about going "green." Sorry, but fixing parks is part of the job description. How is the Sixth Street Embankment project going? Journal Square has a black hole. There is one less hospital in the city.

Good news? Ask the artists community about the empty promises of past administrations and the lip service of this one as the Powerhouse Arts District went from an interesting "neighborhood" concept to planned money-making skyscrapers. This mayor's middle name is "tax abatement."

If city officials are truly happy with the city's fiscal situation then why not provide voters with recent copies of their tax bills as they enter the voting booth in May.

http://www.nj.com/opinion/jjournal/ed ... 35114709122810.xml&coll=3

Hey Fat-ass, I smell it too!

A totally predicable and out-of-touch re-election campaign event.

'GOOD NEWS' HEALY

Thursday, February 19, 2009
By AMY SARA CLARK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

One month after Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy kicked off his campaign for re-election, he used his "State of the City" speech last night to tout his accomplishments, focusing on a drop in crime, stable taxes and increased development that has brought hundreds of new jobs to Jersey City.

To frequent applause from a crowd of about 200 city residents and state, local and city officials at City Hall's Council Chambers, Healy boasted of a city that continues to bring in new development despite difficult economic times.

Healy pointed to two recent groundbreakings - the Monaco on Washington Boulevard and a high-rise apartment building on Marin Boulevard and Grand Street - that he said together will bring in 550 construction jobs.

"We have created our own economic stimulus in Jersey City by creating an investment-friendly atmosphere," Healy said.

Healy said violent crime has decreased for the third year in a row. He promised a 15 percent increase in uniformed police presence by March 1 and announced a new $11 million police radio system. He also highlighted the new Public Safety Communications Center and plans for a new West District police building.

As for taxes, Healy boasted of a stable municipal tax rate for the second year in a row due to nearly $4 million in cuts in municipal spending and new revenue sources. He also touted a triple-B rating from the Fitch bond rating service for Jersey City's overall general bond obligation.

"There is good news out there, folks, in spite of what you might read in the local paper," Healy said to the loudest applause of the night.

The mayor also highlighted the completion of 221 units of affordable housing in 2008, and an additional 719 more units in the works. In addition, he boasted of the city's recently passed green initiatives and announced plans to renovate Fulton, Bayside, Columbia, Hamilton, Fisk-Riverview, Summit Cornelison and Boyd-McGuiness parks and to create a new Lafayette Pool.

The only negative moment of Healy's 51-minute speech was mention of the mediocre school test scores. The mayor pledged to work with education officials to implement an independent curriculum audit.

The speech was attended by U.S. Rep. Albio Sires, Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Joseph V. Doria, Ed McBride, Gov. Jon Corzine's chief of staff, County Executive Tom DeGise and other city, state and county officials.

Several mayoral candidates responded to Healy's speech with skepticism.

"The truth is absolutely that we are not better off than we were four years ago," said former Assemblyman Louis Manzo, "and with practically a shooting a day and two murders a month, Jersey City streets aren't safer.

"Property taxes are up 38 percent from the time Healy took office. The black and Latino unemployment rate is in the double digits, which combined with the property tax increase mark him as an abysmal failure."

Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith also took issue with Healy's claim that violent crime is down: "If you ask the people that are living in Ward F and Ward A and the Heights and certain sections of the city, the streets aren't safe."

Civic activist Dan Levin disputed Healy's drop-in-crime claim, and also complained of a lack of transparency in Healy's administration. In addition, he said that the lack of a tax hike was due to a deferral of pension payments, which was only a short-term solution.

"Basically we're borrowing money today from our future," he said.