Reported offenses of crime in Rahway continued to plummet in 2019, down almost a third from 2018, part of a continuing broader countywide trend.
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The number of offenses reported for Rahway were 190 in 2019, compared with 279 in 2018 — down almost 32 percent. Incidents of reported burglary and larceny both dropped significantly, with reported burglaries down from 44 to 25 (44%), and larcenies down from 163 to 103 (37%).
Countywide, the number of reported incidents was down marginally, 0.21 percent, to 11,020 incidents. Data come from the Uniform Crime Report (UCR), compiled by New Jersey State Police and FBI.
Of the 21 municipalities in Union County, 12 reported decreases and seven reported increases, although most were only among single digits. Two towns (Mountainside and Winfield) reported the same number of offenses in both years. Rahway had the second-largest percentage decrease (-31.8 percent), behind only Westfield (-34.3 percent).
Overall, Rahway Police Department cleared about a quarter of offenses (24 percent), with the lowest clearance rates among larceny (17 percent), burglary (16 percent) and auto theft (3 percent). There were 72 arrests, according to the UCR, with almost half (32) for larceny, and almost a third (21) for assault.
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Neighboring Middlesex County saw a a drop of almost 4 percent overall, to 10,519 offenses.
Here’s how Rahway compared with some other nearby towns:
- Carteret, 297 offenses from 340, -12.7%
- Clark, 238, from 231, +3%
- Edison, 1,455, from 1,267, +14%
- Linden, 1,387, from 1,248, +11%
- Metuchen, 176, from 133, +32%
- Roselle, 406, from 326, +24.5%
- Woodbridge, 1,524, from 1,667, -8.5%
Rahway ranks seventh among Union County’s 21 towns in lowest crime rate per 100,000 people at 631.0 (or conversely, 15th for highest rate), just ahead of Scotch Plains (720.6) and just behind Summit (628.2). Conversely, Rahway ranks 15th for highest crime rate.
The reported decrease in crime continues a fairly long-term trend in Rahway. The city saw a decline of about 19 percent in 2018 while countywide, the number offenses dropped by about 10 percent, and that followed a 13-percent drop in 2017. The last time reported offenses spiked in Rahway was in in 2015, when they jumped about 7 percent.
Keep an eye on future updates to this post or specific posts about long-term trends in certain categories and/or countywide and municipal comparisons.
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