Homicides up in Camden, across region

CAMDEN - Violent crime in the city rose by 3.6 percent last year, pushed up by increases for homicides, rapes and assaults, according to figures provided by the New Jersey State Police.

Camden also saw higher numbers for simple assaults and motor vehicle thefts, statistics show.

End may be near for 12-year jail lawsuit

Non-violent crime was down by 5.8 percent, however, and a Camden County official asserted the overall numbers reflected "another year of progress" for the county's police department.

But Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli Jr. added, "We  know that there is an imperative to continue to get illegal guns off our streets and focus on decreasing homicides."

List: Camden among 'dangerous cities'

The surge in slayings reflected a deadly trend across the region, with homicides also up sharply in Burlington and Gloucester counties.

The State Police reported 47 homicides in Camden City in 2016, up by 46.9 percent from 32 a year earlier. It noted nine homicides elsewhere in Camden County, up from six in 2015.

List: Camden among 'dangerous cities'

The city's tally included three deaths from a 2004 fire that led to homicide charges last year against an alleged arsonist. It did not include the April 2016 death of a city woman fatally struck in a hit-run accident by an alleged car thief.

Cappelli said almost half of Camden's homicides occurred from late March through May when the county department's manpower was "lagging." The department, which has been hit hard by turnover problems, then received approval from the state Civil Service Commission to add about 60 full-time officers.

The force now has almost 400 officers, a goal set when the county department was created to replace a municipal police force in May 2013.

Burlington County's homicide tally more than tripled last year, rising to 19 from six in 2015. Slayings occurred in 11 towns, led by Willingboro, with four homicides, and Pemberton Township, with three.

Gloucester County had six homicides last  year, up from two in 2015. The killings occurred in four towns, with two each in Paulsboro and West Deptford.

Statewide, homicides fell by 15.7 percent, from 369 to 311.

The State Police report noted Camden's crime index — reflecting both violent and non-violent crimes — fell by 2.2 percent to 4,218.

In a broader measure, the city saw an overall increase of 6.8 percent, to 7,244 incidents, after factoring in a third category — simple assault, a disorderly persons offense. Simple assaults rose by 22.4 percent, to 3,026.

Simple assault can involve both physical attacks and threats of harm, including those made online, noted county spokesman Dan Keashen. Many of Camden's simple assaults involve the persistent problem of domestic violence, he added.

Some critics have suggested the level of simple assaults may represent a downgrading of more serious crimes, but Keashen said the county police department has "a 99 percent accuracy rate … from both the state police and the FBI."

"The FBI has tapped (the county police force) for a new strategic program to better identify crime statistics because of the work our (Uniform Crime Report) department does with them," he said.

State Police also noted increases in the city of 49.1 percent for motor vehicle thefts, 17.3 percent for rapes and attempted rapes and 8.8 percent for criminal assault.

The report, released Friday, cited declines of 16.2 percent for larcenies, or thefts, 11.6 percent for robberies and 3.9 percent for burglaries.

The State Police also noted investigators had "cleared" 44.9 percent of violent crimes and 12.6 percent of non-violent crimes in Camden.

Keashen said that reflected a dramatic improvement in several areas, noting the clearance rate in homicides rose to 63.9 percent last year from 34 percent in 2012. He said the clearance rate for all violent crimes went from 22.3 percent to 44.9 percent over the same period.

The report was released during the same week that a real estate research firm named Camden as the nation's fourth most dangerous city based on the number of violent crimes per 1,000 residents.

Neighborhood Scout, a Massachusetts-based search engine, based its assessment on 2015 crime statistics. It previously ranked Camden as the second-most-deadly city based on 2014 statistics and as the most dangerous one year earlier.

Jim Walsh; (856) 486-2646; jwalsh@gannettnj.com