Gang Violence in New Jersey

According to reports released by the New Jersey State Police and the National Crime Data Bank, the crime rate in New Jersey is at it's lowest since the 1960's. However the number of murders, as well as the amount of gang related crime is higher than ever. Incidents of gang crime, including gang graffiti, murder, robbery and drug dealing are on the rise and have spread from the inner cities of Newark and Camden to the leafy suburban streets of towns such as Teaneck and Willingboro. Gangs such as the Bloods and Crips, the MS-13 and the 18th Street Gang.

In 2002, Trenton, NJ had 42 known groups of drug dealers. Last year, there was one gang who controlled over 90% of the city's drug trade, the Bloods. In 2003 there was one gang related homicide in the city of Trenton, while in 2006 there were 23. And when police in this city of roughly 85,000 people began to crack down on gang activity, making massive sweeps of the most dangerous neighborhoods, the gang member moved to neighboring Burlington County, a rural area, with towns like Willingboro, population 33,000, who has seen a spike in gang activity over the last year with several gang related homicides and other crimes reports The Courier Post Newspaper.

Cities such as Paterson, in Passaic County, have also seen an increase in gang activity that has spread to surrounding towns that had never been exposed to this type of activity. In Teaneck, NJ last year, reports The Bergen Record, a 15 year old boy was shot and killed outside a houseparty by a reputed member of the Bloods gang from Paterson. Arrested were five men total, all from Paterson. This was after a separate incident in which a local man was severely beaten by members of the Crips, in Teaneck. Teaneck Police arrested several men, from Teaneck, Hackensack and Paterson in connection with the crime.