Crime Mainly Declined in Island Towns in 2015

Handcuffs (Shorebeat File Photo/ banspy/ Flickr)

Crime data released Monday by the FBI showed that violent and property crime were both down in three island municipalities in 2015 compared to the prior year. In one instance, the data showed, there was a precipitous drop in property crime.

Seaside Heights, in which crime was apparently down again this year, saw a reduction in property crime from 203 incidents in 2014 to 170 in 2015. Burglaries fell from 38 to 30 between the two years, and thefts were down from 163 to 139 reported. Violent crime held relatively steady, rising slightly from 35 incidents in 2014 to 40 in 2015. Virtually all of the violent crime came in the form of aggravated assaults, likely a byproduct of a large number of bars and nightclubs in a condensed area. There were two vehicle thefts in 2015, compared to one in 2015.

In Lavallette, there was just one violent crime – an aggravated assault – in 2015. The prior year, there were no violent crimes reported. Property crime fell to 31 incidents in 2015 from 39 the prior year. There were five burglaries in 2014, compared to six in 2014. Thefts were reduced to 26 from 33 the prior year.

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In Seaside Park, there were two violent crime incidents in 2015 – one aggravated assault and one robbery – compared with one in 2014. Property crime declined slightly, from 48 to 43 incidents, between the two years. Thefts were also down slightly, from 33 in 2014 to 31 in 2015.

None of the towns reported any murders or manslaughters. There was one rape reported in Seaside Heights, but none in the surrounding communities.

Ortley Beach and North Beach data was not available, since it is mixed in with Toms River Township data, inclusive of the entire mainland portion of the township. Likewise, South Seaside Park data is not segregated from Berkeley Township data.