Newark Crime Rate Drops in 2010

Although Newark found itself in the media spotlight after high-profile crimes such as the attempted armed robbery of a Chuck E. Cheese and the stabbing death of a Newark Memorial student, report that overall crime was down by 15 percent in 2010 compared to the previous year.

Police spokesman Commander Robert Douglas said that overall, the department is proud of the reduced crime rate, especially with the short staffing levels due to budget cuts.

“It comes down to our officers who are doing the hard work, doing what’s expected of them, and it shows,” Douglas said.

Officers collected the 2010 crime rate data for the annual FBI Uniform Crime Report, which covers violent crime and property crime for cities around the country.

According to the latest crime data, Newark has seen an increased number of homicides, with five cases reported in 2010 compared to one case in 2009.

“We are always aware of spikes in crime, like murder and arson,” Douglas said. 

Douglas named some of the potential causes of the 2010 homicide cases.

"One instance was a case of a domestic dispute, and there were two individuals killed in that incident," he said. "Another was a bar fight that went bad. We’re still looking at the other cases. Some may have gang influences."

On Tuesday, it will be two months since officers found a bleeding to death from multiple stab wounds near a bus stop at Cedar Boulevard and Birch Street. No arrests have been made in this case. Family and friends laid to rest on Dec. 27.

Newark also saw a rise in the number of residential burglaries, from 159 cases reported in 2009 to 198 cases reported in 2010.

“I see a trend in the poor economy with some people taking advantage of others,” Douglas said. “Times are bad and people are dealing with it now, badly."

Newark made headlines in November 2010 when three masked men herded workers, parents and children into a storeroom as they the Chuck E. Cheese on Mowry School Road. No one was hurt, and officers have not made any arrests.

Douglas says police are doing their best to keep the city safe while funding and resources have been reduced. According to the city’s 2010-2012 Biennial Budget, Police Services has seen its budget drop from  $13,077,200 for the 2009-2010 fiscal year to $12,203,100 for 2010-2011 fiscal year.

According to the budget, the department was down to 74 positions in the 2010-2011 fiscal year from 85 positions during the 2009-2010 fiscal period.

Officers hope they will see some financial relief from the voter-approved user utility tax known as Measure U.

“We need to bolster our police force,” Douglas said. “We hope we see that funding trickle down to the police department and that it would add up to more personnel.”

According to Douglas, funding from a grant from the Cops Hiring Program will allow the department to hire the equivalent of two full-time positions in 2011.

In the meantime, the latest numbers show officers are responding to a fewer crimes: 1,870 in 2010 compared to 2,212 in 2009.

Douglas credits the lower number in crimes to high-profile patrols and programs such as the hotel liaison program.

“It’s also known as the Adopt-A-Motel project,” Douglas said. “Criminals are transient in nature and they often use hotels as lodging. So we work with hotel managers as we conduct probation searches and other investigations. The program helps keep criminals off the street, before they have an opportunity to commit a crime.”

Other crime prevention programs include the recently revived Citizens’ Academy and Neighborhood Watch programs, says Douglas.

“Some remain active even though we don’t have the staffing or funding to continue our previous work with them,” said Douglas. “These neighbors have taken the initiative to continue their grassroots efforts.”

Mona Taplin, a Neighborhood Watch captain, says her group continues to meet regularly.

“The general consensus is that we feel the Neighborhood Watch program is more essential than ever now with fewer police to patrol neighborhoods,” Taplin said in an e-mail to Patch. “We can keep each other safe by attempting to prevent crimes by reporting all suspicious activity in our neighborhood.”

According to Taplin, her group near Beech Place wants to connect with active groups in other neighborhoods.

“Just having a contact person in each area would be a great asset,” said Taplin. “We could then report things like car break-ins, vandalism, etc. to each other and stay alert in our neighborhood.”

Taplin says she feels safe in Newark.

“The police have always done a great job responding whenever we call them,” Taplin said. “I think many people have trouble understanding that the police cannot just make an arrest based on what somebody said. If they could, anyone who got mad at us could call the police and tell them any lie they wanted, and they could then come barging in our homes and scare the bejeebers out of us for nothing.”

Crime Statistics from Newark Police Department

2010YTD

2009 YTD

2008 YTD

2007 YTD

Total

Total

Total

Total

Homicide

5

1

0

0

Rape

7

15

14

11

Robbery

67

73

69

82

Arson

9

5

8

9

Assault - Aggravated

112

113

96

129

Assault - non aggravated

253

315

274

266

Total Assaults

365

428

370

395

Resident Burglaries

198

159

149

130

Non resident Burglaries

129

169

181

181

Total Burglaries

327

328

330

311

Grand Larceny

288

296

400

391

Petty Larceny

684

887

940

787

Total Larceny

972

1183

1340

1178

Auto theft

127

184

200

232

Grand total*

1870

2212

2240

2116

*Grand total does not include arson stats