Crime in Camden, New Jersey

Camden, New Jersey once had a national reputation for its violent crime rates, although recent years have seen a significant drop in violent crime, with 2017 seeing the lowest number of homicides in three decades.[1]

Camden
Crime rates* (2017)
Violent crimes
Homicide	31
Rape	75
Robbery	411
Aggravated assault	956
Property crimes
Burglary	584
Larceny-theft	1,409
Motor vehicle theft	551
Notes *Number of reported crimes per 100,000 population. 2017 population: 74,532 Source: 2017 Neighborhood Scout

Morgan Quitno Press has ranked Camden as one of the top ten most dangerous cities in the United States since 1998, when they first included cities with populations less than 100,000. Camden was ranked as the third-most dangerous city in 2002, and the most dangerous city overall in 2004 and 2005.[2][3] It improved to the fifth spot for the 2006 and 2007 rankings but rose to number two in 2008[4][5][6] and to the most dangerous spot in 2009.[7] Morgan Quitno based its rankings on crime statistics reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in six categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and auto theft.[8] In 2011 in The Nation, journalist Chris Hedges described Camden as "the physical refuse of postindustrial America",[9] plagued with homelessness, drug trafficking, prostitution, robbery, looting, constant violence, and an overwhelmed police force (which in 2011 lost nearly half of its officers to budget-related layoffs).[10]

On October 29, 2012, the FBI announced Camden was ranked first in violent crime per capita of cities with over 50,000 residents.[11]

There were 23 homicides in Camden in 2017, the lowest since 1987 and almost half as many as the 44 murders the previous year. Both homicides and non-fatal shootings have declined sharply since 2012, when there were a record 67 homicides in the city.[12] In 2020 there were again 23 homicides reported. 2021 saw 23 homicides and a further reduction in violent crime, contrasting national trends.[13]

In 2018, the Camden County Police Department reported that violent crime had dropped 18%, led by a 21% decline in aggravated assaults; overall nonviolent crimes fell by 12%, the number of arson incidents fell by 29%, burglaries by 21%, and non-fatal "shooting hit incidents" had dropped by 15%.[14] In 2018, 2019, and 2020, there were 22, 24, and 23 homicides respectively.

Total violent crime in the city declined in 2022, despite 28 murders and a spike of 29% in non-violent crime, highlighted by a sharp increase in car-related crime.[15]

References

1. Everett, Renecca. "Camden's 2017 murder rate was the lowest in decades. Will the trend continue?", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, January 9, 2018, updated May 15, 2019. Accessed March 22, 2020. "In a city that regularly has the highest violent crime rate in the state, any decline in homicides is good news. But local police say that the murder rate for 2017 has hit a 30-year low. The total homicides in the city in 2017 – including both murders and manslaughter cases – was 23, the lowest number going back as far as 1988, according to county spokesman Dan Keashen. It looks especially good compared to last year, when homicides spiked to 44."
2. "11th Annual Safest/Most Dangerous Cities Survey: Top and Bottom 25 Cities Overall" Archived December 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed June 23, 2006.
3. "12th Annual Safest/Most Dangerous Cities Survey: Top and Bottom 25 Cities Overall". Accessed June 23, 2006.
4. 13th Annual Safest (and Most Dangerous) Cities: Top and Bottom 25 Cities Overall: Top and Bottom 26 Cities Overall, Morgan Quitno, backed up by the Internet Archive as of January 5, 2008. Accessed April 5, 2016.
5. "City Crime Rankings, 14th Edition, 2007" Archived March 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. "CQ Press".
6. "City Crime Rankings 2008–2009". "CQ Press".
7. Hirsch, Deborah (November 24, 2009). "Report ranks Camden most dangerous U.S. city" Courier-Post. Accessed December 22, 2009.
8. "Report Ranks Camden Most Dangerous U.S. City". Courier-Post. November 24, 2009.
9. "City of Ruins". Accessed January 28, 2011.
10. "Camden, N.J., to lose nearly half its cops", Money, January 17, 2011. Accessed January 28, 2011.
11. Flint drops title of most violent in nation, according to expanded FBI stats The Flint Journal via MLive.com, October 29, 2012
12. Everett, Rebecca. "Camden's 2017 murder rate was the lowest in decades. Will the trend continue?", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, January 9, 2018. Accessed January 9, 2018. "The total homicides in the city in 2017 – including both murders and manslaughter cases – was 23, the lowest number going back as far as 1988, according to county spokesman Dan Keashen. It looks especially good compared to last year, when homicides spiked to 44. That's a year-to-year decline of 48 percent."
13. "CCPD Releases 2021 UCR Metrics for the City of Camden". January 4, 2022.
14. "Camden sees lowest crime level in more than 50 years". WHYY. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
15. Borowski, Neill. "CCPD: Total Violent Crime Down in 2022; Motor Vehicle Crime Up Sharply", Camden, NJ, Patch, January 9, 2023. Accessed March 11, 2023. "Although total violent crime continued to decline in the city last year, the number of auto thefts and thefts from autos, especially stealing catalytic converters, was up sharply, according to 2022 statistics from the Camden County Police Department.... Murder and manslaughter incidents totaled 28 in 2022, the highest number since there were 44 in 2016.... But the 2022 increases in murders and robberies were offset by declines in aggravated assaults and rapes to produce a lower violent crime count. The non-violent crime count of 2,002 was up 29% and at the highest point since 2019."