Newark, New Jersey, Has First Murder-Free Month in 40 Years

[mawilson 2,133]

April 1 (Bloomberg) -- Newark, New Jersey’s largest city, had its first month

without a homicide in more than 40 years, police said.

The home to Prudential Financial Inc. and Public Service Enterprise Group Inc.

has gone 32 days since the last murder, Detective Josephine Santaniello, a

police spokeswoman, said today. The last time Newark went a full calendar month

without a murder was May 1966, Detective Todd McClendon said. Newark aims to

beat a 43-day murder-free stretch that took place from March to April of 2008,

he said.

The city of 280,000 people, where one in four residents lives in poverty,

had 77 homicides last year and 67 in 2008, after 105 people were murdered in

2007, according to data from the city Web site and New Jersey State Police.

Mayor Cory Booker has made reducing crime a priority since taking office in

2006, as he seeks to lure companies to the city and improve its image.

Newark, 13 miles (21 kilometers) west of New York City, was shaken by the

August 2007 execution-style shootings of four college students behind an

elementary school that left three people dead and a fourth wounded. Two of

those killed and the survivor were students at the University of Delaware and

the third victim was to attend in the following year.

Stepped Up Enforcement

Police under Booker’s direction have increased the use of closed-circuit

television cameras and acoustic gun-shot detectors. They’ve also expanded

the force’s narcotics unit.

“It’s really a combination of everything that’s been set into place,”

McClendon said.

The last homicide in Newark took place Feb. 28 when a person was shot in a

suspected robbery in the city’s West Ward, Santaniello said. She didn’t

give details of the crime or victim.

The murder-free month was reported earlier by the Star- Ledger newspaper.

Twenty-six percent of Newark’s population lives in poverty, compared with

8.7 percent for all of New Jersey and the national average of 13.2 percent,

according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Newark and five other cities -- Camden, Jersey City, Trenton, Paterson and

Elizabeth -- represent 11 percent of New Jersey’s population and accounted

for 22 percent of the state’s total crime, according to the 2008 Uniform

Crime Report.

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[spookyturtle 9,466]

That's too bad.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

The headline makes it seem like a one-off type event. A fluke. In fact, Newark has been steadily (but slowly) getting better for quite a number of years now. Not just going by the amount of violent crime here, but aesthetically and in terms of businesses putting down roots in Newark. Parts of Newark simply do not feel as unsafe today as they did in the mid 90s which is the last time I spent a good deal of time there visiting friends at NJIT. That said, there are still parts of Newark (like alongside Irvington) where no one who isn't from the hood should ever venture or even drive through.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Newark has a long way to go until it's like Melbourne.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Newark has a long way to go until it's like Melbourne.

It'll need a bunch of Lebanese immigrants first.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

It'll need a bunch of Lebanese immigrants first.

I suppose that would be a good start.

[Calypso 465]

How come Melbourne and Sydney are often mentioned when the capital is Canberra?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

How come Melbourne and Sydney are often mentioned when the capital is Canberra?

Same reason Friso and LA are mentioned more than Sacramento.

[Fandango 1,440]

Hey, I'm proud of Newark, don't be rainin on their accomplishment parade, G

[Calypso 465]

Same reason Friso and LA are mentioned more than Sacramento.

Indeed. I was saying the same to my husband when I first arrived here.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Hey, I'm proud of Newark, don't be rainin on their accomplishment parade, G

I didn't rain on it at all. I simply said their success story is much larger than this single news story.

[Fandango 1,440]

I didn't rain on it at all. I simply said their success story is much larger than this single news story.

My funny fail..I shall go hang my head in shame.

[alienlovechild 75]

The headline makes it seem like a one-off type event. A fluke. In fact, Newark has been steadily (but slowly) getting better for quite a number of years now.

That's true nationally as the murder rate has been dropping for years. I thought the weather there was bad for the last month or so maybe that cut down on the opportunity to kill?

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Things are looking up after booting the Democrat Governor.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

That's true nationally as the murder rate has been dropping for years.

Yes, this is true. However, among NJ's cities not all are noticably better today than a decade ago. Newark, Perth Amboy and New Brunswick (NB stands out) are significantly better than they were a decade ago. Less crime, nicer neighborhoods to shop and dine in, etc. Trenton and Camden, on the other hand, may have seen some reduction in their violent crime rates but haven't seen anything like the kind of change Newark and PA/NB have seen. And then, some NJ cities have gotten worse. Paterson's a good example.

So yes, you're right about the national trends but looking beyond that, some cities have done better than others. Newark, in my opinion, has outperformed Trenton and Camden by a long shot.

I thought the weather there was bad for the last month or so maybe that cut down on the opportunity to kill?

Feb weather was awful. This data is for March I believe.