Nonviolent crime up 16.7 percent
By:Emily Craighead
Nonviolent crime in Manville rose 16.7 percent last year, an increase police attribute to shoplifting.
"We’ve had a lot of shoplifting arrests with Wal-Mart being in town," Lt. Ira Whitenight said.
In 2003 there were 208 larcenies, compared with 165 the previous year, according to the New Jersey Police Uniform Crime Report, released last week.
The number of larcenies in Manville has risen dramatically since 1998, when the number jumped from one to 119, according to Lt. Whitenight.
"People (alleged shoplifters) are always detained by Wal-Mart security," Lt. Whitenight said. "They’re doing the best job they can over there."
Manville wasn’t the only community in the area to see increases in such crime Bound Brook and Raritan also saw larcenies increase by 16.1 and 21.6 percent, respectively.
When numbers change significantly, in cases of shoplifting for example, police look at whether new stores moved into town and identify similarities between the thefts such as time of day or location, according to Manville Police Chief John Petrovic.
Although the overall crime index rose from 222 to 258 in 2003, instances of robbery, burglary, motor vehicle theft and domestic violence all decreased.
The greatest drop occurred in domestic violence cases, which decreased steadily from 117 in 2001 to 98 in 2002 and finally 88 in 2003.
In spite of these apparent trends, Chief Petrovic said it is difficult to identify specific causes.
"I review the Uniform Crime Reports as they come in and we compare them to last year," Chief Petrovic said. "Sometimes you’ll see a percentage rise that’s inconsistent, only because the previous year you had two incidents, and then you had four a 100 percent increase."
Over the past three years, Manville maintained its place among similar communities in Somerset County, between Raritan and Bound Brook.
Raritan’s crime index decreased from 177 to 175 last year, while Bound Brook’s crime index rose from 294 to 301.
Such fluctuations are common, according to Chief Petrovic.
"It goes with the territory," he said. "There are periods of time when we have more than others."
Manville’s 2004 crime statistics are still being compiled.