Crime & Safety

Newark Police Report Drop in Non-Lethal Shootings

Officials credit work of department's Major Crimes Unit

The number of non-fatal shootings in Newark is down by almost one-fifth from January to early November of this year versus the same period last year, according to statistics compiled by the Newark Police Department.


Through the first 10 months of the year, 245 people suffered non-fatal gunshot wounds in Newark. In the period from January to November 2012, 298 people were shot.


“The cumulative endeavor of protecting and serving the citizens of Newark as demonstrated by the officers in this department must be commended.  While I am pleased with this historical reduction we will not steer away from our main focus of ridding our city’s streets of violent criminals,” Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio said in a statement.

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The department attributed the decrease to a number of factors, including the formation of a Major Crimes Unit specifically tasked with taking on non-fatal shootings. Since the unit’s founding, 39 percent of shootings have been solved, versus just 13 percent before the Major Crimes Unit came online, the department said.


Officials also credited aggressive attempts to get guns off the streets, with 1,522 weapons collected through various programs and initiatives in the last two years.

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Homicides, meanwhile, dropped by nearly a quarter during the first half of 2013 versus the same period last year, when 96 people were killed in Newark. Most of the city’s murders are from gunshot wounds.


That was followed by a relatively quiet summer during which Newark police and other law enforcement agencies deployed extra personnel and rolled out a series of crime-fighting initiatives during what has historically been the most violent season of the year in Newark. 


But the last two months have been marred by spasms of murder. In late August and early September, one person a day was killed in Newark for 10 consecutive days. In October, five people were murdered in a span of three days. Also last month, four people were killed in a single day.


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