According to the 2003 stats published by the FBI, crimes reported in Trenton prior to the opening of the river line were as follows -
Population: 86,130 Murder: 13 Forcible Rape: 36 Robbery: 645 Aggravated Assault: 824 Burglary: 1,073 Larceny or Theft: 2,514 Car Theft: 1,090 Arson: 26
In 2006, the stats were as follows
Population: 84,703 Murder: 18 Forcible Rape: 31 Robbery: 632 Aggravated Assault: 593 Burglary: 806 Larceny/Theft: 1,211 Car Theft: 460 Arson: 23
This does not look much like a crime surge to me.
An article on the 5th year anniversary of the River Line in the Burlington Times seems to fit with the original poster's appraisal.
The River Line at 5
It's been five years since the launch of the River Line, NJ Transit's Camden to Trenton light rail line and we think it's a qualified success. The line has fulfilled a need for additional public transportation in the county and provided a much needed economic boost to some of the towns it spans. New restaurants and shops have opened in Riverton and Burlington City, and new townhomes were built near the River Line stations in Cinnaminson and Delanco. -snip- NJ Transit also needs to make the safety of its riders and River Line neighbors a priority. While police officials and nearby residents have said criminals sometimes make use of the line for illegal activities, crime statistics don't show a significant increase in crime in the towns served by the rail line. Regular users also have raised concerns about vagrants and panhandlers, as well as drug-dealing, on some of the station platforms and in some of the cars. NJ Transit police officers do patrol the 34-mile line route, but we believe a substantial increase in ridership should correlate with an increase in security patrols at the stations.
The line has fulfilled a need for additional public transportation in the county and provided a much needed economic boost to some of the towns it spans.
New restaurants and shops have opened in Riverton and Burlington City, and new townhomes were built near the River Line stations in Cinnaminson and Delanco.
-snip-
NJ Transit also needs to make the safety of its riders and River Line neighbors a priority.
While police officials and nearby residents have said criminals sometimes make use of the line for illegal activities, crime statistics don't show a significant increase in crime in the towns served by the rail line.
Regular users also have raised concerns about vagrants and panhandlers, as well as drug-dealing, on some of the station platforms and in some of the cars.
NJ Transit police officers do patrol the 34-mile line route, but we believe a substantial increase in ridership should correlate with an increase in security patrols at the stations.
A preliminary google search on "river line crime" and "river line new jersey crime" turned up the above article, info on the new station, and the ET article here, but not much about serious crime problems created by the line.
2007: Population: 83,551 Murder: 25 Forcible Rape: 15 Robbery: 595 Aggravated Assault: 530 Burglary: 852 Larceny/Theft: 1,408 Car Theft: 385 Arson: 21
It seems murder is the only field where there is an apparent growing tendency, but then, the sample is small. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
2005: Population: 85,566 Murder: 31 Forcible Rape: 21 Robbery: 805 Aggravated Assault: 658 Burglary: 962 Larceny/Theft: 1,940 Car Theft: 672 Arson: 27
2004: Population: 85,911 Murder: 18 Forcible Rape: 47 Robbery: 576 Aggravated Assault: 716 Burglary: 987 Larceny/Theft: 2,027 Car Theft: 791 Arson: 27
For all but murder, the trend is the same in earlier years, so I will table only murder -- which on the longer term does show an upward trend, but it began before the River LINE: 2002: 19 2001: 13 2000: 14 1999: 8 1998: 15 1997: 12 1996: 14 1995: 16 *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
So - any other devastatingly compelling evidence for this 'crime wave'?
Shall we compare deaths from road accidents along the length of the line for the same period?
Everyone knows about this, so I shouldn't have to do your research to confirm it, but here is a source:
x Cranky driver complaining in the online comment thread of one of the stories about the River line over the past five years in one of the local papers that have online stories and comments. I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.
2003: Car Theft: 1,090 2004: Car Theft: 791 2005: Car Theft: 672 2006: Car Theft: 460 2007: Car Theft: 385
