Crime in Glen Ridge remains low and steady

GLEN RIDGE, NJ — The most recent Uniform Crime Report, released April 29 by the NJ Office of the Attorney General, shows that while criminal activity in Glen Ridge remained low and stable, incidents of non-violent crimes did increase while violent crimes decreased.

Comparing 2013 to 2014
According to the 2014 UCR, the total crime index, which is the sum of violent and nonviolent crimes, increased in Glen Ridge, from 163 incidents in 2013 to 168 in 2014. However, violent crimes decreased, from seven reported in 2013 to three reported in 2014. Non-violent crimes increased from 156 reported incidents in 2013 to 165 in 2014.

According to the New Jersey State Police, which compiles the statistics for the Uniform Crime Report, murder is the unlawful killing of another human being with malice forethought; rape is carnal knowledge of a female against her will; robbery is the felonious and forcible taking of property by violence; aggravated assault is the offer or attempt, with unlawful force or violence, to do serious injury to another person; burglary is the unlawful entry into a structure and larceny-theft is the taking of property to deprive ownership.

According to the report, for violent crime, Glen Ridge had :
• no murders or rapes in 2013 and 2014;
• four robberies in 2013 and three in 2014; and
• three aggravated assaults in 2013 and none in 2014.
According to the report, for nonviolent crime, Glen Ridge had:
• 39 burglaries in 2013 and 40 in 2014;
• 108 reports of larceny in 2013 and 124 in 2014;
• nine motor-vehicle thefts in 2013 and one in 2014; and
• one reported arson in 2013 and none in 2014.

For all crimes in Glen Ridge, the crime rate, per 1,000 residents, was 22 in 2014. This means that for every 1,000 residents, 22 were the victims of a reported crime. For the year 2013, this figure was 21.5.

In the violent crime category, the crime index per 1,000 residents was 0.4 in 2014; in 2013, the index was 0.9. The non-violent crime rate per 1,000 residents increased slightly in 2014 from 2013. In 2014, it was 21.6; in 2013, it was 20.5. This means that per 1,000 residents, about one additional resident was affected by crime in 2014 than in 2013.

Crime statewide
Statewide, the total number of violent crimes decreased 10 percent from 2013 to 2014, from 25,452 incidents to 23,004. However, alone in the violent crimes category, rape increased 9 percent, from 874 incidents to 950. Nonviolent crimes from 2013 to 2014 decreased by 7 percent. The total crime index of violent and nonviolent crimes decreased by 8 percent. Twenty persons out of every 1,000 were victims of a crime in New Jersey, larceny-theft and burglary victims accounting for more than 16 of those persons. A crime was said to have occurred every two minutes and 54 seconds in 2014, an improvement over 2013 when it to0ok 11 seconds less.

Crime in Essex County for 2014
Among New Jersey counties, Essex had the highest number of arrests for murder in 2014, with 59. Passaic County was second, with 38. Third was Camden County, with 29. Hunterdon and Sussex counties were the only two counties not reporting a murder. A total of 119 murders were committed in Essex County in 2014, the highest total of any New Jersey county.

Among all 22 Essex County municipalities, 13 had lower overall crime rates per 1,000 residents than Glen Ridge in 2014. Only one of the municipalities which borders Glen Ridge has a lower crime rate and that was Montclair with an overall crime rate of 16.5 in 2014. The other two communities that border Glen Ridge, Bloomfield and East Orange, had overall crime rates in 2014 of 25.8 and 24.4, respectively.

The 2013 estimated population of the borough was 7,623. The residents occupy 1.3 square miles for a population density of 5,863 per square mile. Twelve of the other 21 municipalities in Essex Co. had higher population densities. The township of Fairfield had the lowest population density with 708 people per square mile. But it had an overall crime rate of 31.2 per 1,000 residents.

In an email, Det. Sgt. Timothy Faranda of the Glen Ridge Police Department said that generally, the GRPD experiences the same types of crimes occurring elsewhere.

“Many property crimes are preventable by taking precautions to safeguard the property,” he said. “All residents should remember to lock their vehicles and house doors to prevent these crimes of opportunity. Keys should not be left inside the vehicle.”

He encourages residents to remain aware of their surroundings and to report any suspicious activity to the police department.

“The crime prevention bureau is currently looking into neighborhood watch programs and anyone interested should reach out to the detectives,” he said. “We’ve recently seen an increase in bicycle theft and will be rolling out a bicycle registration program on May 17, 2016, during the ‘Coffee with a Cop’ event.”

Each bicycle, he said, will have a sticker placed on it which will have a unique serial number.

The manufacturer’s serial number will also be documented by the police.

“Residents should try to documents the individual serial numbers of all products they own,” he said. “If the items are stolen, these serial numbers are how we entered the items as stolen. If they are ever recovered, the serial number will validate that it was in fact stolen. These numbers can usually be found on the back of the product.”