State Report Offers a Look at Lawrence's Crime Rate

The frequency of certain violent and nonviolent crimes in Lawrence Township dropped by about 12 percent in 2009 when compared to the previous year, according to the most recent Uniform Crime Report issued by the New Jersey State Police.

Crime statistics for 2010 are not yet available.

The annual report contains data on the rate of so-called major "index crimes" that fall into seven categories: the four violent crimes of murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; and the three nonviolent crimes of burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft. 

The Uniform Crime Report also contains separate statistical data on arson, domestic violence and bias crimes.

Of the 834 index crimes that occurred in Lawrence between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2009, the majority (783) fell into the nonviolent category. Of the 950 index reported in 2008, 892 were in nonviolent categories.

There were no murders in the township in either 2009 or the year before. Of the 51 violent crimes reported in 2009, 10 were rapes, 19 were robberies and 22 were aggravated assaults. (During 2008, there were eight rapes, 19 robberies, and 31 aggravated assaults reported.) 

Lawrence Township, categorized for the purposes of the report as a suburban municipality with a population of approximately 31,000 residents, saw almost a 10 percent reduction in the number of larcenies reported, dropping to 657 in 2009 from 736 in 2008.

Township Police Chief Daniel Posluszny said that increasing patrols - especially around retail-heavy zones such as Quaker Bridge Mall, Mercer Mall, and the rest of the Route 1 business corridor - is something that the department has been focusing on.

“The shoplifting and [more petty thefts] is something that ebbs and flows,” he said of the 2009 statistics, “but we [as a department] are aware of the activity.”

Included with larceny as nonviolent index crime categories are burglaries and motor vehicle thefts. Lawrence Township showed drops in both categories, with burglaries going from 110 in 2008 to 95 in 2009, and motor vehicle thefts from 46 in 2008 to 31 in 2009.

To combat both burglary and motor vehicle thefts, Posluszny said the police routinely warns vehicle owners to make sure their doors are locked and to keep  pricey electronic items, such as GPS devices, out of sight.

Such warnings were again made by the police department after in the township on Jan. 1 of this year.  

Arson and domestic violence, however, saw increases. In 2008, there were eight reported arsons. In 2009, there were 13. And there were eight more reported instances of domestic violence in the municipality in 2009 (178) than there were in 2008 (170). The township had three bias crimes reported in 2009, compared to eight in the previous year.

Throughout Mercer County, nonviolent crime saw a four percent decrease, while violent crime saw an approximate 11 percent increase, up to 1,612 total incidents reported in 2009, compared to 1,427 reported in 2008.

While the report provides valuable information about the rates of certain crimes in the 22-square-mile township, Posluszny does not believe that the Uniform Crime Report tells the full story of what township police officers encounter on a regular basis.

For example, he said, while the township is filled with a tremendous number of businesses, the numbers of forgeries and counterfeiting crimes were reduced by nearly 42 percent in 2009 -  a statistic that is not found in the state report.