Trenton Police and Fire Departments Publish Data
Trenton N.J. –Trenton Police Department (TPD) and Trenton Fire Department (TFD) released separate annual reports on public safety within the Capital City. TPD’s report, which includes summary data on property and violent crime within the Capital City, noted significant reductions in property and violent crime. Compared with the aggregate property and violent crime from 2018, the city saw a 27% decrease in those crimes during 2019. TFD’s report featured exceptional response times as well as data on the installation of free smoke alarms.
TPD reported a 6% decrease in homicide, 11% decrease in robberies, 3% decrease in aggravated assaults, and a 10% increase in sexual assaults. All violent crimes are down except for sexual assaults, which is consistent with national increases of self-reported incidences. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, sexual assaults doubled in recent years and has been attributed to increased empowerment for residents to report historically underreported crimes.
Additionally, TPD released data on the incidence rate of homicide, sexual assault, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, theft, and auto theft. Between January 2019 and December 2019, the city saw 434 fewer burglaries than the prior year, which constitutes a 56% reduction in burglaries. Similarly, within the past year, TPD averaged approximately two minutes in their response time for reports of burglaries. TPD’s Director, Sheilah Coley, asserted “Our department is making a serious effort to improve community engagement and outreach. The effort has been impactful.”
When compared with 2018 statistics, theft and auto theft both plunged by 13% and 35% respectively. With regards to the substantial reduction in property crime Mayor Reed Gusciora asserted, “Reductions in property crime will increase property valuations for residents and businesses. A decline in crime will also incentivize investment in our local economy, which will benefit our residents and local businesses.”
TFD reported that, in 2019, the department responded to 7,781 calls, of which, 9.2% were reports of active fires and 56.3% were requests for emergency medical services (EMS). The average turnout time for fires and rescue crew, across various units, was under two minutes; additionally, the department’s average response time was under five minutes. Quick response times are essential to saving lives, mitigating damage to property, and preventing the spread of fires.
In 2019, there were 76 residential fires, and out of those fires, 30 residences had smoke alarms. Derrick Sawyer reported that, “In the past year, we have helped install 723 free smoke alarms for residents of the city. Working smoke alarms can reduce the risk of death in a residential fire by 40 to 50%.”
The City of Trenton is committed to ensuring the safety of all residents. The contact information for TPD and the TFD is listed below.
Trenton Police Department: 609-989-3905
Trenton Fire department: 609-989-4000
In the case of an emergency, please call 9-1-1 EMERGENCY (Police, Fire, EMS).
###
PRESS CONTACT: Connor S. Ilchert
CIlchert@trentonnj.org
Office: (609) 989-3047
Cell: (609) 575-1880
Fire Department 2019 Year in Review