Report: Moorestown Crime Rate Remains Steady

Moorestown’s crime rate remained steady from 2010 to 2011, with a slight increase in non-violent crimes paired with a minor decrease in violent crime.

The township had roughly half the number of violent crimes in 2011 (13) as it did in 2010 (25), with decreases in rape, robbery and aggravated assault—and zero murders, according to the state Uniform Crime Report (UCR), which shows crime totals for every town in New Jersey from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2011.

On the other hand, non-violent crimes in Moorestown, including burglary and theft, increased by 34 from 2010 (520) to 2011 (554). There were seven more burglaries—not surprising considering the rash of residential burglaries the township experienced last year—and 25 more thefts in 2011.

Moorestown Police Sgt. Lee Lieber said the department uses the UCR primarily as a “yardstick” to measure how effectively they’re doing their jobs, but doesn’t lean too heavily on it.

“We have to look at the details more than the overall picture,” he said.

While the decrease in violent crime is certainly positive, the fact that overall crime remained steady is something the department works continually to address.

“Obviously we always want to do better and … reduce crime,” said Lieber.

Moorestown Police instituted a number of measures this year to combat crime, included hiring four Class II Special Officers—part-timers trained the same as full-time cops—and the implementation of online incident reporting. Lieber indicated the UCR next year should indicate how effective the Class II officers were in stemming minor crimes and incidents, particularly in the downtown area.

The department is also planning to hire four more Class II Special Officers sometime next year, Lieber said.

Maple Shade saw an overall decrease in crime, from 451 incidents in 2010 to 415 in 2011, though the number of violent crimes ticked up from 27 to 33. This was paired with a drop in the number of non-violent crimes from 424 to 382.

In Mount Laurel, overall crime went up 701 to 730, violent crime went down 38 to 36 and non-violent crime increased from 663 to 694. 

Overall in Burlington County, crime went up 8 percent (9,076 incidents). Violent crime decreased by 1 percent, while non-violent crime was up 9 percent. The crime rate for the county was 20.2 victims for every 1,000 residents—an increase of 8 percent from 2010.

To see the full Uniform Crime Report, click on the attached PDF. (Information for Moorestown is on page 120.)

Uniform Crime Report for Moorestown 2010-2011

* Murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault
** Burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft