West Orange announces that innovative police initiatives have yielded lower crime rates

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The latest Uniform Crime Reporting Program statistics from the FBI show that while violent, nonviolent and property crimes continue to soar across the nation, crime in West Orange continues to decline, according to a press release from West Orange public information office Joseph Fagan. The report indicates that the violent crime rate, nonviolent crime rate and the overall crime rate in West Orange has hit a 41-year low. 

The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office announced in an online video conference this past December that the West Orange Police Department was awarded the Excellence in Policing: Community Partnership Award. The award honors a partnership that strengthens relationships and collaborates with community stakeholders to advance public safety. 

This recognition was presented to the WOPD for implementing a program in which trained mental health clinicians are called upon to respond alongside officers on certain mental health crisis calls. The police department has partnered with the Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris on this program. 

“Our police department is constantly open to the implementation of new and different programs — especially those types that reflect our ongoing commitment to find improved methods in keeping all our residents safe,” WOPD Chief James Abbott said. “Our goal has always been to de-escalate situations with new initiatives focusing on unnecessary force. Our participation in this collaborative effort holds promise for bringing us closer toward our objective.” 

The WOPD is the sole nationally accredited law enforcement entity in all of Essex County. Accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies is the gold standard in law enforcement, and requires all accredited agencies to promote and abide by the most contemporary best practices in the industry.

  Uniform Crime Report, West Orange Police Department