Newark Saw Historic Drop In Murders Last Year, Car Thefts Also Down

NEWARK, NJ — Newark has seen its lowest number of murders in more than seven decades, city officials announced Tuesday.

According to Newark public safety officials, the city experienced 31 murders in 2024, its lowest homicide rate since 1953. The total was a 16 percent decrease from 2023.

The drop in murders is part of a 19 percent overall reduction in violent crime, authorities said. Other decreases included:

• Robbery – 38 percent decrease
• Aggravated Assault – 14 percent decrease

Rape was the sole violent crime category that increased in Newark last year, going up 2 percent.

Meanwhile, non-violent property crimes such as burglaries, thefts and stolen cars were also down, dropping by about 8 percent overall – largely due to a 19 percent decrease in vehicle thefts.

The number of murders cited by the city doesn’t include multiple homicides that have taken place in late December – a tragic fact that officials acknowledged at Thursday’s news conference.

“This progress reflects years of community work, violence-prevention efforts and dedicated public servants,” city officials said.

“We honor every life lost and remain clear-eyed: there is still much more work ahead,” officials added. “Newark will keep moving forward together.”

Newark’s violent crime increased 9 percent in 2023 – although the city still saw much less violence than it did in previous decades.

The following graph from the FBI's crime data explorer shows the overall violent crime rate for Newark between January 1985 and December 2023 (article continues below).

Newark officials have credited part of the turnaround from past decades to a new approach to policing, which views crime and violence as a “public health” issue that needs to be attacked in several ways – not simply making more arrests.

The city recently began diverting some of its policing budget to the Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery, which runs anti-violence programs and supports local community groups.

A network of more than 40 organizations are now helping to take a new look at crime in Newark – and what causes it.

Nonprofits, groups and community leaders across the city have been tapped in an attempt to address the root causes of violence, reaching out to local youth and holding peace marches across Newark. Meanwhile, city-employed social workers have graduated and taken the field alongside cops, a significant addition in an area where about one in four calls that police get are for “social intervention.”

• See Related: Obama Praises Newark's Efforts To Stop Violence By Boosting Its Youth
• See Related: New Approach To Policing Is Paying Off For Newark, Official Tells Peers In D.C.

Newark's drop in violent crime mirrors an overall trend in New Jersey. Crime dropped in the Garden State last year – and plunged nationwide, according to the latest statistics from the FBI.

New Jersey saw 20,684 violent crimes with a population of 9,500,851 residents in 2024– a rate of 217.7 per 100,000 people. That’s down from 225.3 per 100,000 people in 2023. The state’s violent crime totals were below the national rate, which came to 359.1 per 100,000 people.

Nationwide, violent crime is down about 4.5 percent from 2023 estimates. That includes drops in murders (14.9%), rapes (5.2%), robberies (8.9%) and aggravated assaults (3%). Meanwhile, property crime dropped 8.1 percent last year in the United States, including burglaries (8.6%), larcenies (5.5%) and vehicle thefts (18.6%). These numbers are the lowest property crime rates and lowest violent crime rates since at least 1969, according to the Center for American Progress.

>> READ MORE: Is Crime Up Or Down In New Jersey? Here’s What FBI Data Shows

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