State Criminal Justice Profile

New Jersey

BJA Investments

In Fiscal Year 2014, BJA provided more than $8 million* in state and local funds to New Jersey.

Justice Assistance Grant Program—State Formula $4,641,010
Justice Assistance Grant Program—14 Local Awards $2,101,490
Other Direct Discretionary Funds $1,522,770

Source: Bureau of Justice Assistance
*This amount does not include funding for national training and technical assistance programs that benefit all states and territories.

PDF IconInvestment Details

Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program—State Formula

Grantee Name GMS Project Period Project Title GMS Award Amount
New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 FY 2014 Edward Byrne JAG Program $4,641,010

Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program—Local Awards

Grantee Name GMS Project Period Project Title GMS Award Amount
City of Atlantic City 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 Efficiency and Production Project $109,723
City of Camden 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 Camden County FY 2014 JAG Program $289,135
City of Hackensack 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2015 FY 2014 JAG for Audio and Radar Surveillance Equipment $12,267
City of New Brunswick 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 FY 2014 JAG Program $96,070
City of Passaic 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 FY 2014 JAG Program $246,078
City of Vineland 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 FY 2014 JAG Program $78,328
Gloucester County 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2015 Deptford Township and Gloucester County Patrol/Equipment Grant $10,418
Hudson County 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 FY 2014 Edward Byrne Memorial JAG—Hudson County $288,566
Mercer County 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 Mercer County Gang and Crime Suppression Initiative $160,034
Newark Police Department 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 FY 2014 JAG Urban Essex Grant Program $506,164
Township of Lakewood 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 Northern Ocean County Enforcement Project $31,395
Township of Neptune 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 2014 JAG for Law Enforcement Equipment $59,448
Township of Willingboro 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2015 Community Mentoring Program $11,662
Union County 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 FY 2014 JAG $202,202

Other Direct Discretionary Funds

Grantee Name GMS Project Period Project Title GMS Award Amount
Essex County 10/01/2014 – 09/30/2016 FY 2014 Intellectual Property Program $393,587
New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety 10/01/2014 – 09/30/2016 New Jersey FY 2014 Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative $500,000
New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 New Jersey Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners (RSAT) Program $152,720
New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety 08/01/2012 – 07/31/2015 FY 2014 Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) Reallocation Funds $240,724
New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority 10/01/2014 – 09/30/2015 New Jersey FY 2014 John R. Justice Program $35,739
Northwest New Jersey Community Action Partnership, Inc. 10/01/2014 – 03/31/2016 Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program FY 2014—Phillipsburg NOW $100,000
Urban League of Essex County 10/01/2014 – 03/31/2016 Urban League of Essex County FY 2014 Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program: Planning $100,000

Law Enforcement Agencies and Officers

Law Enforcement Agencies: 479

Sworn Officers: 24,460

City     County     Tribal     State*     Other

Source: FBI Uniform Crime Report (2013)

  • More than 76% of the 479 law enforcement agencies in New Jersey have 50 or fewer sworn officers.
  • Nearly 50% of sworn officers work for agencies with 100 or more officers.
Note: Detail may sum to more than 100% due to rounding.

Officer Fatalities and Assaults

Between 2004 and 2013, 6 officers were feloniously killed (0 in 2013) and 15 officers were accidentally killed in the line of duty. In 2013, 1,806 officers were assaulted (3.62% of all officers assaulted in the United States).

Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reports

Crime Trends

According to the FBI Annual Report, nationwide violent crime in 2013 decreased more than 4% from the 2012 estimates. Below are the current crime trends for New Jersey:

Crime 2012 2013 %
Violent Crime 25,727 25,674 -0.2
Murder and Manslaughter 388 401 3.4
Forcible Rape 1,035 1,981 N/A
Robbery 11,385 12,082 6.1
Aggravated Assault 12,919 12,071 -6.6
Property Crime 181,481 167,556 -7.7
Burglary 42,338 35,873 -15.3
Larceny-Theft 122,662 117,936 -3.9
Motor Vehicle Theft 16,481 13,747 -16.6
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reports

Arrest Data

In 2013, total arrests (302,955) decreased 7.76% from 2012. Violent-crime arrests decreased 4.14% (10,871), and property-related arrests decreased 5.76% (31,093).
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reports

Court Structure

Court of Last Resort:    Supreme Court
Intermediate Appellate:    Appellate Division of Superior Court
General Jurisdiction:    Superior Court
Limited Jurisdiction:    Municipal Court
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics (2011)

Corrections

Prisoner Admissions: 9,802
Prisoner Releases: 10,766
Total Prisoners: 22,452

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics (2013)

Major Correctional Facilities: 13
Recidivism Rate*: 32.0%
Top Offenses: Homicide, robbery, drugs (FY 2015)

Source: New Jersey Department of Corrections
*Recidivism is defined as a reincarceration within a 36- month time frame post release from a state prison.

Regional Informations Sharing Systems® (RISS)

The Middle Atlantic-Great Lakes Organized Crime Law Enforcement Network (MAGLOCLEN), a RISS Center, serves New Jersey. There are 409 New Jersey criminal justice agencies that are members of MAGLOCLEN.
Source: Regional Information Sharing Systems

Seal of New Jersey

Highlights

In New Jersey, Byrne JAG state funding has assisted with numerous innovative initiatives and supports:

  • New Jersey’s 21 county prosecutor-led task forces, which combat crimes related to gangs, guns, and narcotics. The Attorney General’s New Jersey State Police Organized Crime, Gang, Gun, and Narcotics Task Force—built on 3 regional bureaus in the northern, central, and southern areas of the state—uses an intelligence-led policing model to target violent street gangs and narcotics traffickers. The statewide Division of Criminal Justice Multijurisdictional Gangs, Guns, and Narcotics Task Force works collaboratively with federal, county, and local law enforcement to investigate and prosecute members of criminal gang and gun trafficking organizations whose operations cross county jurisdictions or state boundaries.

  • Criminal Justice Information System improvement projects, including development of a human trafficking tips and leads system. The system enhances the ability of law enforcement and prosecution personnel to collect, identify, track, and solve cases through smartphone hand-held applications.

  • Top Gun training on investigating and prosecuting gang and drug cases. Run through the New Jersey Department of Criminal Justice, this program trains state and county law enforcement officers and prosecutors together so that each can understand the needs, problems, and concerns of the others.

Source: National Criminal Justice Association

PDF IconDetails on New Jersey’s priorities and planning process

State Administering Agency (SAA)

New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice Elie Honig, Director
http://www.state.nj.us/lps/

New Jersey At-A-Glance

Total Population: 8,899,339
Population Under 18: 2,022,117
Population Over 65: 1,283,468

Source: U.S. Census (2013 est.)

State Investigative Agency:
New Jersey State Police Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent

Local Governments: 1,344
Source: U.S. Census (2012)

Federally Recognized Tribes: 0
Source: Bureau of Indian Affairs

U.S. Attorneys’ Office: Paul J. Fishman—District of New Jersey, Newark Source: U.S. Department of Justice

Homeland Security Agency: New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness Dr. Christopher Rodriguez, Director http://www.njhomelandsecurity.gov

Drug Courts: 25
Source: National Drug Court Resource Center