Crime & Safety

Police: Crime in Newark Down By 21 Percent

Police are crediting a combination of neighborhood watch groups, volunteers and stepped-up enforcement efforts by officers for the reduction in crime stats

By Bay City News—

Serious crime dropped in Newark by 21 percent between 2012 and 2013, according to information released yesterday by the Newark Police Department.
 
In its annual crime data report to the state regarding serious offenses like homicide, rape, robbery and arson, the city found crime in almost every category down over the previous year, police said.
 
Robberies were down 42 percent, residential burglaries were down 51 percent and non-residential burglaries were down 41 percent, according to police. The only category of serious crime that increased was auto theft, which was up 17 percent from 2012.
 
The Police Department credits neighborhood watch groups and community volunteers with improving public safety in 2013 by reporting suspicious activity and requesting extra patrols. A police street enforcement team that focuses on gang issues successfully broadened its work to include residential burglaries, drug crimes and high-crime areas in the city in 2013, according to the Police Department.
 
The city also implemented a new computer system in 2013 that streamlined officer reporting and allowed police to analyze crime patterns and allocate patrols more efficiently, police said.
 
All officers have increased their productivity levels and are making more arrests and contacts with community members, according to the Newark Police Department. This has also contributed to the crime reduction, police said.

Recent articles on Patch about Newark Police:


How do you feel about the crime in Newark? Better or worse? Tell us in the comments section.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Newark