Crime Down 17% In Parsippany To Start 2016

PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Despite the mild winter and just one snow storm in the month of January, crime actually went down year-over-year from 2015 to 2016.

In recently released data from the New Jersey State Police, records show a 17-percent overall drop in crime from January 2015 to January 2016, with most of that coming in the category of theft.

There was one rape in January 2016 versus January 2015, though the requirements for a rape charge have been changed, according to state police.

“The New Jersey State Police UCR Unit has begun to incorporate the revised Rape Definition effective January 1, 2015 into the State of New Jersey's Summary Reporting System,” police said on their website. “The FBI initiated the new definition on January 1, 2013 and was intended to be a more inclusive definition to provide a more accurate understanding of the scope and volume of these crimes. The new definition is anticipated to increase the number of reported rape offenses.”

Strong arm robbery saw an increase of one, while assaults with a dangerous weapon went from two to zero year-over-year.

Simple assaults had a bit of a surge, going from 11 to 14. The big ticket item to see a decrease, however, was the category of theft, from 21 in January 2015 to 15 in January 2016. Overall, the report showed a drop from 35 total crimes to 29 year-over-year.

See the full report here.