The state’s annual Uniform Crime Report, released last week, showed a slight increase in the overall crime rate for the East Windsor-Hightstown area.
By: Michael Arges and Scott Morgan
The total number of crimes reported in the East Windsor-Hightstown area increased 14.9 percent in 2000 over the previous year while violent crime decreased, according to numbers released by the state last week.
The annual "Crime in New Jersey Uniform Crime Report" was released Aug. 30 by the State Police. The report showed there were 658 crimes committed in East Windsor and Hightstown in 2000, compared to 573 in 1999. However, the crime rate per 1,000 people increased just 3.8 percent, from 21.0 to 21.8.
Four less violent crimes were reported in the two towns, while non-violent crime increased from 530 to 619.
East Windsor
A 39-percent decrease in violent crimes and 12-percent increase in nonviolent crime made for a slight decrease in overall crime rate per capita in the township.
The annual report is an occasion for residents to remember that they are an important part of the township’s crime prevention team, noted East Windsor Police Chief William Spain.
"We encourage people to report incidents to us, if they see something going on, something suspicious," the chief said. "We’d prefer that people would call us to check it out."
Total violent crimes went down from 36 in 1999 to 22 in 2000.
"We’re pleased about that," he said.
In both 1999 and 2000 there was one murder, and the number of rapes went from one in 1999 to two in 2000. However, violent robberies went down from 13 in 1999 to four in 2000 and aggravated assaults went down from 21 in 1999 to 15 in 2000.
Actually, this decrease in violent crime in 2000 represented a return to the normal level after a temporary spike caused by one specific group of young offenders, Chief Spain noted. The incidence of violent crime returned to a more normal level in 2000 because that group was no longer a factor, the chief explained. He refused to elaborate on the case because the offenders were juveniles at the time of their crimes.
On the other hand, between 1999 and 2000 there was an increase of nonviolent crimes from 431 to 484. That was largely because of two sprees of automobile thefts, usually to unlocked cars, Chief Spain noted. Those sprees were instrumental in the increase of nonviolent larcenies from 342 in 1999 to 398 in 2000.
"In the year 2000 we had two waves of incidents of car burglaries, and they were two different groups," the chief explained.
Both crime waves that caused the spike in nonviolent crime in 2000 were solved.
"We made arrests in all of those, but that’s not reflected in your UCR stats," he added.
A lot of car burglaries can be prevented if people simply lock their cars, Chief Spain said. Residents who live in condominiums or apartments where they have to park their car on the street need to be especially vigilant about locking up, because people are always walking near their cars.
Although the overall number of crimes went up from 467 to 506 between 1999 and 2000, the crime rate per 1,000 people in the township went down from 20.9 in 1999 to 20.3 in 2000. The 2000 figure compares with a rate 29.1 in Hightstown, 26.7 in West Windsor, 20.0 in Washington, 18.3 in Cranbury, 42.7 in Princeton Borough, 12. 7 in Princeton Township, 35.6 in Ewing and 27.2 in Hamilton. The rate for Mercer County was 40.1.
Hightstown
Overall crime in the borough is up from 1999 figures, according to the crime report.
The crime rate per 1,000 people grew from 21.5 in 1999 to 29.1 in 2000, while the non-violent crime rate per 1,000 people grew from 20.1 to 25.9.
The individual areas showing the greatest differences are larceny, which grew from 53 incidents in 1999 to 92 cases in 2000, and domestic violence, which was up from 43 cases to 67. Burglary was the only category to decrease between 1999 and 2000, dropping from 42 cases to 36.
The borough’s crime rates per 1,000 people were less than the Mercer County average, which were 40.1 for overall crime in 2000 and 34.9 for non-violent crime per 1,000 people. The county’s overall crime rate, however was unchanged from 1999, while non-violent crime per 1,000 dropped from 35.1.
Borough Police Chief James M. Eufemia did not return phone calls seeking comment on the borough’s statistics.

