Officials: City Murder Rate Trending Downward So Far This Year

In a hopeful portent for the rest of the year, the Newark Police Department announced Tuesday that murders have gone down by 25 percent in the first three months of 2013 versus the same period last year.
 
“I am proud of how our residents and police officers have joined together to reduce the number of homicides in our city,” Mayor Cory Booker said in a statement.  “We believe that the struggle to end needless tragedies in our city will not solely be won by making arrests – we must provide our youth, our returning ex-offenders, and all of our residents with love, inspiration, and the tools they need to be productive and healthy members of society. Working together, we will make Newark a national leader in urban safety.”

From Jan. 1 to March 31 of this year there were 15 murders recorded in the city, said Sgt. Eugenio Gonzalez, compared to 20 murders between January 1 and March 31, 2012.

Police Director Samuel DeMaio attributed the drop to a renewed effort to get guns off the streets as well as the opening or re-opening of police “mini-precincts” throughout the city. Some of these facilities, which serve as auxiliary command posts for patrol officers and are credited with strengthening the ties between law enforcement and neighborhoods, were closed following the layoff of about 150 police in 2010.

Using a strategy called “tactical analysis zone enforcement,” the department focuses on parts of the history historically plagued by crime, an effort that DeMaio said resulted in the seizure of 1,035 illegal weapons since it was initiated last year. 

“I am delighted by the tremendous pace by which violence is being reduced. This decrease can be attributed to the hard work, courage, and commitment that are demonstrated daily by all the men and women of this department,” DeMaio said. “Their determination to make this city safer for all who visit, work, and live in Newark has to be commended. I am proud of every single one of them.”