Robbery, burglary, rape, criminal mischief, and arson all decreased in North Bergen in 2009, according to statistics released by the Police Department last week. However, the department had to deal with increased incidents involving aggravated assault, auto theft, and larceny.
There were no murders. North Bergen’s last homicide occurred in 2006, police said.
Captain Robert Dowd said North Bergen’s statistics were compiled using the Uniform Crime Reports Program, a voluntary law enforcement system that is the standard in the country. The data was compiled from January through December of 2009.
There have been no murders since 2006.
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“We’re in an urban cluster, [with] Union City and Jersey City,” said Dowd. “I’m not comparing our crime [with other municipalities], but we feel the same ripple affects.”
Decrease in burglary
Dowd said that the township also saw a 16 percent decrease in burglary, with 155 incidents in 2009 compared to 180 in 2008. He said the 2009 statistics were an all-time low for the municipality, which had more than 500 burglaries per year in the 1980s.
Police also solved incidents and apprehended individuals 18 percent of the time, a statistic Dowd said they were proud of, since the past average was 4 percent. Dowd credited the drop to the department’s two-year-old Burglary Unit, and with the intensified use of DNA and latent fingerprints.
“It’s also a little bit of luck, but it’s also good, old fashioned police work,” said Dowd. “[The burglary unit is] out there making street contacts, obtaining information, doing surveillance.”
He said that one burglar arrested can prevent many other crimes from occurring and resolve a number of unsolved cases.
“We’re cutting the crime off before it happens, which helps our stats,” said Chief William Galvin.
Five rapes
Dowd said that there was a 28 percent decrease in rape, with five occurring in 2009. He said that the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office was able to arrest 71 percent of the suspects in those cases last year.
There were five arson cases in 2009, as compared to eight in 2008. Criminal mischief was also down 14.3 percent last year, with 348 acts.
“Our detectives are working harder in my opinion then they ever have,” said Dowd. “The whole plan that [Galvin] spearheaded when he took over [six years ago] really changed the way that we police the streets and ensure safety to the town.”
Slight increases in assault, larceny, auto theft
There were 57 aggravated assaults in 2009, an 11 percent increase from the 51 incidents in 2008. According to Capt. Gerald Sanzari, the bulk of the arrests were domestic violence-related, while others were street altercations.
There was a 5.7 percent increase in auto theft, with 129 cases in 2009 as compared to 122 in 2008. Lt. Frank Cannella said the increase was due to a number of Lexus vehicles being stolen off a railway cargo lot in 2009. Dowd said that the 2008 statistics had been the lowest in 25 years.
Larceny was also up four percent last year, with a 582 crimes, as compared to 558 in 2008. Dowd said that part of this was due to larger big box retail stores coming into the area, and was affected by more shoplifting.
Computers, training bolstering department
Dowd said that six years ago Galvin revolutionized the way the department was run by bringing computers to the forefront.
For the last three years, command level supervisors met every week to discuss their “COMPSTAT” statistics. Areas of interest, the number of arrests made, statistics, and accountability are topics at every meeting. Dowd said every incident is analyzed to see if it was handled correctly.
“Although it can get heated at times, its results are incredible, because in the end we are all focusing on the same thing,” said Dowd.
For the last year, Galvin has also instituted detective meetings, in which departments across the region are invited to share tips on crimes they are investigating. They include Hudson, Bergen and Essex County Police Departments, as well as the ATF, DEA and Secret Service Agents.
“We’ve never had communication as well as we do now in terms of making this into a region and realizing that the crime doesn’t stop at our borders,” said Sanzari.
When the department installs their surveillance computer system over the next few months, their ability to watch crime with be even further enhanced. The cameras will have the ability to predict if a pedestrian is about to be struck by a car and may in the future be able to recognize faces and license plates.
Tricia Tirella may be reached at TriciaT@hudsonreporter.com.