Shootings Keep Dropping In New Jersey, State Reaches 'Historic Low In Gun Violence'

Gun violence has dropped again in New Jersey, with nearly all of the state’s largest cities seeing major reductions in shootings during 2025, officials say.

The governor’s office, attorney general’s office and state police held a news conference in East Rutherford on Tuesday to discuss New Jersey’s latest crime statistics, which include a “historic low in gun violence.”

According to state data, 559 victims suffered gunshot injuries in New Jersey last year: a decrease of 28 percent from 2024. There were 107 fatalities, a decrease of 31 percent.

Nearly all major cities in New Jersey saw declines in shooting victims, including drops of more than 50 percent in Atlantic City and Paterson, and decreases between 23 percent and 31 percent in Camden, Newark and Trenton.

Fatal shootings dropped more than 60 percent in 2025 from its highest point since tracking began, when 273 people were killed in 2016.

The numbers of shooting victims and shooting murder victims has now fallen for four consecutive years, the governor’s office said (article continues below):

The latest data from the governor’s office supports similar findings from the FBI, which reported that overall crime dropped in New Jersey last year – and plunged nationwide.

New Jersey saw 20,684 violent crimes with a population of 9,500,851 residents last year – 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.

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

Viewed on a longer time scale, the Garden State has seen a huge drop in violent crime over the past decades – especially from levels seen in the 1980s and 1990s.

The following graph from the FBI's crime data explorer shows the number of homicides in New Jersey between 2003 and 2025:

Despite the gains in public safety, even one deadly shooting is too many, New Jersey officials said Tuesday.

“Even as we acknowledge this progress, we remain mindful of the victims of violence and their loved ones, as the work continues to make New Jersey safer for all,” Gov. Phil Murphy said.

“The decline in shooting victims and auto thefts is the direct result of law enforcement agencies working together and using intelligence-led policing to drive our decisions,” said Lt. Col. David Sierotowicz, acting superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.

“By coordinating efforts, targeting the right offenders and deploying resources strategically, we are seeing real, measurable reductions in crime and safer communities across New Jersey,” Sierotowicz said.

• See Related: Newark Saw Historic Drop In Murders Last Year, Car Thefts Also Down
• See Related: Homicide Rate In Jersey City Drops To Record Low

STOLEN CARS

New Jersey also saw a drop in vehicle thefts last year, authorities reported.

In 2025, the total number of motor vehicles stolen statewide decreased by 9 percent from 2024, falling from 15,041 to 13,693, according to the New Jersey State Police Regional Operations Intelligence Center.

• See Related: 1 In 5 Stolen Cars In This NJ City Was Left Running, Police Say

FIGHTING CRIME IN NJ

New Jersey public safety officials credited the latest drops in crime to several factors:

TARGET DEPLOYMENTS – “The New Jersey State Police have been increasingly using technology to guide their decision-making on how to most effectively support local, state and federal partner agencies in reducing the number of shooting incidents and victims. That approach involves the Attorney General’s Gun Violence Reduction Task Force, a statewide intelligence-sharing network across New Jersey's 21 counties, which facilitates collaboration among law enforcement and prosecutors from all levels of government.”

GUN CONTROL – “New Jersey has enacted tough anti-ghost gun and large capacity magazine laws, while the state's strict liability law holds gun traffickers criminally liable when their weapons are used in violence. New Jersey has formed a 16-state coalition to hold irresponsible firearms industry members accountable for their devastating impact on gun violence. And New Jersey’s SAFE Office, established in 2022, seeks to hold irresponsible members of the gun industry accountable through civil lawsuits when their weapons are used to perpetrate criminal activity.”

AUTO THEFT TASK FORCE – “The Auto Theft Task Force, led by the New Jersey Division of State Police, was formed to address the serious spike in auto thefts. The task force works both to recover individual stolen vehicles as well as to pursue long-term investigations into car theft organizations. In addition to members of the state police, the task force is comprised of officers from various county, state, and municipal law enforcement agencies. The task force recovered dozens of stolen vehicles with a value, in total, of millions of dollars. The task force has played a key role in prosecuting offenders to deter auto theft and secure recoveries for vehicle owners.”

COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND MENTAL HEALTH – “The Alternative Responses to Reduce Instances of Violence and Escalation (ARRIVE) Together program – designed to improve outcomes when law enforcement responds with a mental health component – has expanded to all 21 counties, resulting in more than 15,000 successful interactions statewide since its December 2021 inception in Cumberland County. The Community Based Violence Intervention (CBVI) program, overseen by the Division of Violence Intervention and Victim Assistance, has made a meaningful impact on communities vulnerable to violence by supporting organizations with established credibility within the communities. Over the first three quarters of 2025, CBVI programming reached more than 97,600 community members through strategic partnerships with schools, community events, group and one-on-one programs, and responses to violent incidents. The Murphy administration has invested more than $150 million to support community-based violence Intervention programs, hospital-based violence intervention programs, and trauma recovery centers. Funding for ARRIVE has grown steadily and is nearly $20 million in the fiscal 2026 state budget.”

Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way said New Jersey is seeing the results of eight years of “deliberate investment in public safety.

“This progress reflects a broad, statewide effort between the Governor’s Office, State Legislature, Office of the Attorney General, New Jersey State Police, law enforcement and community partners working together to reduce violence and prevent crime,” Way said.

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said the state has been launching new and strategic approaches to public safety – and they’re paying off for residents.

“Whether through community-based violence intervention programs or the continuing development of the ARRIVE Together initiative, we are making a difference,” Platkin said.

• See Related: NJ Is Bucking National Trend For Prison Population, Report Says

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