County Crime Down 6 Percent; Violent Crime 13 Percent

TRENTON — Cape May County last year saw the largest percentage drop in total crime of New Jersey’s 21 counties.
According to the state’s 2008 Uniform Crime Report, released on Sept. 8, this county experienced a 6 percent reduction in indexed crimes from 5,204 in 2007 to 4,876 last year. Cape May was one of six counties to see a drop in overall crime. Statewide, crime increased by 3 percent, but violent crime dropped 1 percent.
In a release, Gov. Jon S. Corzine praised the report’s findings.
“Nearly two years ago, my administration launched a comprehensive plan aimed at combating violent crime in New Jersey, and the data released in this report shows that we are winning important battles in the fight against gang violence and violent crime,” Corzine said.
“While this is progress, there is still work to be done. We will continue to do whatever it takes to protect the public and help maintain safe neighborhoods where New Jerseyans can raise their families.”
In the report, indexed crimes are broken down into violent crimes (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault) and non-violent crimes (burglary, larceny/theft, motor vehicle theft).
Cape May County’s total crime rate of 50.6 per 1,000 inhabitants was the highest in the state followed by Cumberland (44.4) and Camden (41.3) counties.
County Prosecutor Robert Taylor, however, noted that the crime statistics for this county and other resort areas are skewed because of the seasonal population explosion in the summer.
“We go from about 97,000 residents year-round to nearly 1 million on a good weather weekend in August,” Taylor said. “You can see our numbers are nearly 10 times what they are in the winter.”
For 14 of the 16 municipalities in Cape May County (considered resorts), the state uses annual mean population rates to prepare crime statistics. If the state instead used standard population estimates as it does with most municipalities, crime rates in resorts such as Avalon, Sea Isle, Stone Harbor and Wildwood would be near or greater than 100 per 1,000 inhabitants.
Even though the state attempts to account for summer populations, “the seasonal components of these estimates are not a complete measure of seasonal population because they include only those living in rental housing units or in vacant year-round housing. Not counted are the many day visitor s and per sons who occupy campgrounds, hotels, motels or bed and breakfast establishments or who stay with friends or relatives,” the report stated.
Regarding violent crime, this county experienced: no murders, 31 rapes, 72 robberies and 201 aggravated assaults, which represented a 13 percent drop in those offenses from 350 in 2007 to 304 in 2008. Incidents of violent crime dropped in 11 counties with two falling greater than Cape May (Atlantic and Hunterdon).
Despite a 6 percent drop in non-violent offenses from 4,854 in 2007 to 4,572 last year, the county recorded the highest rate of non-violent crime (47.4) in the state. Cumberland (37.8) and Atlantic (34.7) counties experienced the next highest rates of non-violent crime.
Cape May County reported 952 burglaries, 3,521 larceny/thefts and 99 motor vehicle thefts.
According to the report, nearly $5 million in currency and property was stolen in this county last year. Of that total, $728,255 or 14.8 percent was recovered.
“I’m very pleased with the 2008 Uniform Crime Report, which showed Cape May County had a 13 percent reduction in violent crime. Only two counties had a greater reduction,” said Taylor. “The county also had a 6 percent drop in non-violent crime, which was tied for the highest with Essex County.”
“I’m also pleased to announce that domestic violence offenses/arrests were down 8 percent,” Taylor added.
In addition to reported crimes, the report also numbered arrests made in the county during 2008. There were nearly 9,500 arrests made in the county last year, an increase of 4 percent over 2007.
The report also detailed police employee data for the state’s 546 law enforcement agencies including those in this county. According to the report, there were 433 full-time municipal police employees in this county last year including 333 officers and 100 civilians.
Cape May County had the second highest rate of police employees per 1,000 residents (4.5), behind only Essex County (4.6). Cape May also had 230 county police employees, including 152 in the Sheriff’s Office and 78 in the Prosecutor’s Office.
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Click here to view the entire 2008 Uniform Crime Report and other important documents at the Herald’s Public Records page.