Data released in a preliminary Uniform Crime Report from the state show that overall crime in Mercer County dropped by 1.1 percent from 2011 to 2012.
Crime in Mercer County and across the state dropped in 2012, a state report released yesterday said, and more recent numbers from local police departments indicate that 2013 saw further reductions in most types of crime.
Data released in a preliminary Uniform Crime Report from the state show that overall crime in Mercer County dropped by 1.1 percent from 2011 to 2012 compared to a 4.6 percent drop statewide.
Even with this drop, however, the number of homicides and rapes statewide in 2012 represented six-year highs, the report said.
The county’s overall crime rate dropped due to a 12.3 percent drop in simple assault and a 2.5 percent drop in all other types of assault, despite a 4 percent rise in homicide and rape rates, and increases in robbery, 10 percent; burglary, 6.1 percent; and motor vehicle theft, 5 percent.
While countywide data for 2013 is not yet available, town-by-town figures for January through November of last year indicates that the county’s final numbers are likely to show an overall reduction in crime from 2012 to 2013.
With only December results untallied, most Mercer municipalities, including the seven largest, have reported decreases in crime.
Notable total crime reductions in the county included Hopewell Township, down 24 percent; Hamilton, 17.7 percent; and Trenton, 8.4 percent. Robbinsville saw a 14.8 percent increase in crime, almost entirely tied to a jump in simple assault.
The clear divergence from this downward trend in crime is the homicide rate, as Mercer experienced 10 more homicides through November and saw three more in December, representing an increase of 50 percent.
The total number of homicides for Mercer in 2012 was 26 and in 2013 it was 39.
The raw 2012 numbers released yesterday came out ahead of the full Uniform Crime Report.
Until last year, when it came out in December, the Uniform Crime Report was usually released from September to November. Yesterday’s statistics — released three days into 2014 — don’t show the complete 2012 report that customarily analyzes trends and data.
Paul Loriquet, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office, said the State Police have run into a glitch and have not been able to finish a final report. He said the state released a summary of the report yesterday to “get out the data as soon as possible.”
Wayne Fisher, a professor at the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice, said that makes the numbers difficult to dissect.
“It’s only a two-year slice (2011-2012), with relatively no change that jumps off the page,” Fisher said. “It’s nice to see the decreases. But the state used to come out with this stuff the year after. Now we’re into 2014. It makes it impossible to comment.”
Not surprisingly, the largest number of murders in 2012 took place in the state’s most dangerous cities. Newark had the most with 96, two more than 2011.
But 2013’s numbers appear to be worse. Earlier this week, a Star-Ledger analysis of more recent police and county records showed homicides in New Jersey jumped to a seven-year high of 409 last year.
Other notable data from the 2012 numbers released yesterday:
• Six counties had more than two dozen murders: Mercer (26), Union (28), Atlantic (29), Passaic (29), Camden (71), and Essex (121).
• The county with the largest drop in crime was Union with a 12.8 percent decrease. Cumberland had the largest increase, 8.4 percent.
The Star-Ledger contributed to this report.
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