OCEAN COUNTY – While the constant deluge of arrests, car accidents, break-ins, or robberies in the local news might hint otherwise, Ocean County towns fall quite low on the list of towns reporting violent crimes.
According to the FBI’s recent “Crime in the United States Report,” Ocean County only has four towns that make it into the top 100 towns reporting the highest levels of violent crime statewide. The figures provided by the report reflect 2018 statistics.
According the FBI, violent crimes consist of charges such as murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. This new data shows that, in New Jersey, violent crimes have dropped 10 percent between 2017 and 2018.
Seaside Heights is the only Ocean County town to rank with one of the highest rates of violent crime. The top ten NJ towns with highest to lowest rates of violent crime per 1,000 people are:
- #1 Teterboro, 14.71
- #2 Trenton, 11.62
- #3 Asbury Park, 11.07
- #4 Salem, 9.10
- #5 Seaside Heights, 9.05
- #6 Brooklawn, 8.40
- #7 Bridgeton, 8.32
- #8 Wildwood, 7.94
- #9 Orange City, 7.42
- #10 Newark, 7.33
Four Ocean County towns fall in the top 100 towns reporting violent crimes, including Lakehurst at #35, South Toms River at #84, and Island Heights at #87.
Other Ocean County towns that reported include:
- #136 Lakewood, 1.25
- #173 Long Beach Township, 0.99
- #185 Pine Beach, 0.93
- #195 Brick Township, 0.87
- #216 Point Pleasant, 0.76
- #230 Point Pleasant Beach, 0.67
- #238 Lacey Township, 0.63
- #243 Berkeley Township, 0.6
- #247 Toms River, 0.6
- #252 Barnegat, 0.57
- #257 Stafford Township, 0.55
- #258 Lavallette, 0.55
- #261 Beachwood, 0.54
- #269 Ocean Gate 0.50
- #275 Jackson Township 0.48
- #328 Tuckerton, 0.3
- #369 Little Egg Harbor, 0.19
- #405 Ocean Township, 0.11
[adrotate banner="278"]In addition, the FBI data also pinpoints which towns had the highest and lowest decreases in violent crime reported between 2017 and 2018. Among the highest are Lakehurst and Island Heights, with 3.31 and 1.81 increases, respectively.
Among the lowest are:
- Toms River Township, -0.09
- Point Pleasant, -0.11
- Ocean Township, -0.11
- Lacey, -0.31
- Stafford Township -0.3
- Little Egg Harbor Township -0.38
- Brick Township -0.5
- Surf City -0.8
- Ship Bottom -0.8
- Barnegat Light -1.6
- Beach Haven -1.6
- Seaside Park -2.57
- Seaside Heights -2.74
