Camden County officials recently released statistics indicating a downward trend of violent crimes in Camden City during the first half of 2014.
Governor Chris Christie commended the city on its newly released crime statistics, which show a decrease in both violent and nonviolent crimes. Christie said that the system put in place by the Camden County police force “is a system that other cities in New Jersey and around the county can emulate.”
When compared to the first half of 2012 and the first half of 2013, violent crimes in the City of Camden have declined sharply. For example, the data shows that there has been a decrease in homicides and sexual assaults.
According to police, there have been just 22 murders in Camden City so far this year; that compares favorably with 35 murders during the same timeframe in 2013 and 44 murders during the same timeframe in 2012.
Similarly, there has been a noticeable decrease in the number of reported rapes in the City of Camden. So far this year, there have been 29 reported rapes, compared to 39 in 2013 and 57 in 2012.
Other violent crimes, such as aggravated assault and robbery, are also declining; however, the decline is less drastic. The number of robberies in Camden is down 25 percent from 2012 and just 13 percent from 2013. The number of aggravated assaults has declined 17 percent since 2012 and just 12 percent since 2013.
It is not just violent crimes that are on the decline in Camden. Since 2013, nonviolent crimes like burglary, auto theft, and arson are down 17 percent.
The recent statistical trend is not surprising given the structure of the Camden police force. A budget crisis led Camden City to cut its police department nearly in half in 2010. As a result, there was a spike in crime throughout the area.
However, the Camden City police force was soon replaced by a larger police department affiliated with Camden County. Since 2013, the county police force has more than doubled from 160 officers to 376 officers. The police department has a goal of 411 officers, which should lead to a further reduction in crime rates in Camden City.
For more information, check out the NJ.com article entitled “County Releases Camden Crime Stats for January through August.”
