By: centraljersey.com
PLUMSTED – The township had Ocean County’s lowest overall crime rate per 1,000 residents in 2009, according to the New Jersey Uniform Crime Report released Nov. 18 by state Attorney General Paula Dow.
Plumsted’s overall crime rate per 1,000 residents was 7.4 in 2009, while the second lowest crime rate among the county’s 33 municipalities, 9.6, was reported by Manchester Township, a predominately senior citizen community. Plumsted’s overall crime rate in 2008 was 14.6, according to the report.
The statewide report lists the number of reported crimes by municipality and county. Crimes are divided into two major categories: violent and nonviolent. Violent crimes include murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; nonviolent crimes include burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft.
There were eight incidents of violent crime in Plumsted in 2009, up from five in 2008, according to the report. The number of reported rapes in the township remained at three. One robbery was reported in 2009, while there had been none in 2008, and the number of aggravated assaults rose from two to four.
Nonviolent crimes decreased from 114 in 2008 to 53 in 2009, according to the report. Burglaries dropped from 29 to 12; incidents of larceny dropped from 75 to 37; and motor vehicle thefts fell from 10 to four.
Harvey Cedars had Ocean County’s highest overall crime rate at 96.7 per 1,000 residents, but the borough had only 38 reported crimes in 2009, according to the report. Toms River Township had the most reported crimes in the county at 2,582, for a crime rate of 26.9 per 1,000 residents.
The complete Uniform Crime Report’s statistical summary for the state of New Jersey is available online at the State Police website: www.njsp.org.
The Plumsted Police Department has 13 uniformed police officers, the highest number of officers since the department was established, Mayor Ron Dancer said in a press release. Under the leadership of Sgt. Matthew Petrecca, officer in charge, the department has successfully advanced to comply with the 112 standards that represent the best practices in law enforcement, the mayor said.
In October, the Plumsted Police Department had a two-day on-site inspection and assessment as part of the accreditation process through the New Jersey Law Enforcement Commission, which is administered by the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police. The department is being recommended to become the 40th police department in the state and the second in Ocean County to be state accredited and nationally recognized by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Mayor Dancer said.
