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Crime in N.J. keeps dropping, Murphy says. See the new stats on shootings, car thefts.

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Crime in N.J. keeps dropping, Murphy says. See the new stats on shootings, car thefts.


As he enters his final weeks in office, Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday touted a decline in crime across New Jersey.

Speaking at a court and police building in East Rutherford, Murphy said there were 559 shooting victims statewide last year, a 28% decline compared to the previous year.

Of the 559 victims, 107 were fatalities.

At the start of his term, more than 1,300 people were shot annually, Murphy said. The 2025 reduction marks the fourth consecutive year of declines in gun violence injuries.

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“That’s not to say we are perfect,” Murphy said. “Because the objective is to get it down to zero.”

Motor vehicle thefts also dropped in 2025 — from 15,041 to 13,693 — according to New Jersey State Police statistics. That was a 9% decrease.

Murphy signed legislation in July 2023 that increased criminal penalties for auto theft offenders, focusing on repeat offenses and large-scale automobile trafficking.

“While there is more work to be done, this moment underscores the strength of the tools, practices and initiatives that have been put in place during the Murphy administration to protect residents and support lasting public safety across our state,” Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way said.

State Attorney General Matthew Platkin attributed the decline in crime to treating gun violence as a public health issue.

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“That happened because of a sustained commitment to treating gun violence like the public health crisis it is,” Platkin said.

Platkin also cited drops in shootings in New Jersey’s largest cities, including Paterson, which saw a state police takeover after a corruption scandal. Shootings in the city fell to 42 last year from 127 the year before, he said.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said his city also saw historic lows in shootings and murders, with killings dropping to 31 last year, a 19% decrease from the previous year.

“Even as we laud our accomplishments, and we have many to talk about, we still have people who have been victimized in our city,” Baraka said last week.

State officials lauded local gun violence interruption groups as integral to the reduction.

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“These groups are doing good and important work,” Platkin said.

Murphy said the coalitions often engage communities in ways law enforcement cannot.

“They’re on the streets, they know the community unlike any of us,” Murphy said. “They know it better than law enforcement. They know it better than elected officials.”

New Jersey’s acting State Police superintendent, Lt. Col. David Sierotowicz, said the reduction in crime was the result of collaboration between multiple government agencies and community partnerships.

“These reductions in crime represent more than statistics — they represent lives saved,” Sierotowicz said.

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New laws could hold NJ parents accountable for teens involved with unruly crowds

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New laws could hold NJ parents accountable for teens involved with unruly crowds


The Garden State is turning up the heat on parents to help prevent unruly behavior by teenagers.

It’s been an ongoing problem that has played out in the past few years in several beach towns and other communities.

Two bills were signed into law this week by Gov. Phil Murphy that build on prior efforts to crack down on the type of disruptive and violent antics seen in towns throughout the state.

“I think it’s smart to try and, like, kind of corral this issue a little bit, because it’s definitely gotten worse as I’ve gotten older,” Ocean City resident Madelyn Adamson said. “Making sure the parents kind of control their kids a little more is probably the way to go.”

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One of the laws aims to hold parents and guardians more accountable by imposing consequences on them.

Any adults who have shown neglect or disregard for supervising their kids who incite public brawls could be charged with a disorderly persons offense.

The grown-ups could also get fined $1,000 for unruly behavior by teens that leads to property damage.

A second law requires the state Attorney General to create a crowd management training program for police in areas hit by more than one pop-up party or flash mob in the past year.

While public safety is at the heart of the new laws, officials say there’s an economic aspect to all of this as well, especially in shore towns that are highly dependent on tourism.

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“A Memorial Day weekend public brawl that’s all over the news? People don’t want to come down the shore the next weekend and that hurts all kinds of small business, large business,” NJ Senator Paul Moriarty said.



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New Jersey passes legislation to protect immigrants

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New Jersey passes legislation to protect immigrants


From Camden and Cherry Hill to Trenton and the Jersey Shore, what about life in New Jersey do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know.

On Monday, the final day of the current New Jersey legislative session, lawmakers in the General Assembly and state Senate passed three bills designed to strengthen public trust and safety in immigrant communities across the Garden State, and to protect them from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and roundups.

To become law, the legislation must be signed by outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy before he leaves office Jan. 20. New Jersey has the second-largest immigrant population in the country after California.

The Safe Communities Act requires the state attorney general to develop a plan for how sensitive locations such as public schools, health care facilities and houses of worship would interact with federal immigration authorities without deterring community members from seeking services or engaging with them.

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The act mandates that the commissioners of Community Affairs, Children and Families, Health, Human Services, Education and Corrections, as well as the administrative director of the courts, adopt the attorney general’s model policies, or policies to provide greater protection for community members, and to prominently display them in public-facing areas.

The Privacy Protection Act limits the collection and sharing of data by federal government and health care entities to ensure that Jersey residents are not discouraged from seeking necessary services.

The third measure codifies the attorney general’s Immigrant Trust Directive, which draws a clear distinction between state, county and local law enforcement officers — who are responsible for enforcing state criminal law — and federal immigration authorities, including ICE, who enforce federal civil immigration law. The bill limits the voluntary assistance that state law enforcement officers may provide to federal authorities. The directive, which is designed to foster trust between police and community members, has withstood legal challenges by state and federal courts since it was issued in 2018.



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New Jersey files public nuisance lawsuit against scrapyard operator EMR

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New Jersey files public nuisance lawsuit against scrapyard operator EMR


From Camden and Cherry Hill to Trenton and the Jersey Shore, what about life in New Jersey do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know.

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette have filed a public nuisance lawsuit against EMR, the operator of a metal scrapyard in Camden’s Waterfront South neighborhood.

The suit, filed Monday in Superior Court, alleges that at least 12 hazardous fires took place at the facility in the last five years, including a massive fire last February that prompted dozens of nearby residents to evacuate. The yard has been cited for numerous violations in the past.

Officials want EMR to take immediate action to end hazardous conditions at its facilities. They allege the fires were a result of EMR creating a high risk of fires on its lots, and that despite knowing about the risks, EMR failed to take corrective action.

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