New Jersey
New Jersey sees spike in incidents of bias in 2023
TRENTON, N.J. — Reports in New Jersey of incidents of bias — like antisemitism and anti-Black behavior among others — climbed by 22% last year, according to preliminary data released Thursday by the attorney general.
Attorney General Matt Platkin’s office released the unofficial data for 2023 that saw reports to law enforcement climb to 2,699 from 2,221 the year before along with an analysis for 2022 and 2021 that showed an increase of 17% year over year.
The number of incidents recorded in 2022 is the highest the state has seen since record keeping began about 30 years ago.
“We’re seeing a real rise in bias and hate in the state. It’s not something we take lightly. And we’re using every available tool, to prevent it,” Platkin said in a phone interview.
The data reflects reports members of the public make to police across the state, including state police, alleging hate crimes or other incidents of bias against protected classes under the law, including race, religion and gender. The incidents include racially discriminatory graffiti, threats or actual physical harm.
The increase stems from a number of factors, according to Platkin. Among them are increased outreach to communities encouraging such reporting, he said. But the rise also mirrors trends seen in other states, and nationally, in higher reports of hate crimes specifically. The FBI, for instance, reported last year that hate crimes climbed nearly 12% in 2021. He also cited political divisiveness, the spread of misinformation on social media and a backlash to the demonstrations that followed George Floyd’s murder in 2020.
The most recently available figures from New Jersey show anti-Black and anti-Jewish bias were the most common race and religion based reasons for reports, reflecting trends from the prior years. Anti-Black incidents accounted for 34% of all bias motivations, while anti-Jewish bias motivated 22%, according to the attorney general’s office.
Last year also saw a rise in anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bias, the data showed. Anti-Muslim incident reports climbed to 107 from 61, while anti-Arab incidents reached 78 last year, from 46 in 2022. Platkin pointed to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel as a likely factor in those reports.
Platkin also said Thursday his office launched an online data dashboard aimed at giving the public information about bias incident statistics across the state.
From 2021 to 2023, 217 people were charged with bias intimidation in the state, Platkin said.
“Even if we can’t charge someone with crime or or hold someone accountable personally, we can see trends that are alarming and deploy resources to hopefully prevent bias incidents from occurring in the first place,” he said.
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A severe thunderstorm watch looms over North Jersey on the evening of June 12 after days of extreme heat.
Nation Weather Service New York declared a severe thunderstorm watch for numerous North Jersey counties including Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex, Morris and Sussex among other Central Jersey and New York counties. The watch is in effect until 9 p.m., according to the NWS statement.
In an hourly forecast from The Weather Channel for Paramus, there is a 74% chance of thunderstorms at 7 p.m.
High temperatures reached past 90 degrees in many parts of North Jersey on June 11 and June 12 as a heat advisory also remains in effect until 8 p.m., said NWS New York.
“Dangerous heat is expected to continue across much of our region through today, with several record highs likely to be challenged again. High temperatures are forecast to peak into the low to mid 90s across most of the area,” the National Weather Service said Friday.
A Heat Advisory is in effect until 8 p.m. across the state except for Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Salem counties.
PHILADELPHIA – Philip McPherson II, a 37-year-old from Riverside, New Jersey, was sentenced Thursday, June 11, to 78 months in prison for his role in a 2022 plane crash in Lehigh County that killed a student pilot, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Sentencing and charges for fatal Lehigh Valley crash
What we know:
United States District Judge John M. Gallagher sentenced McPherson to 78 months in prison, three years of supervised release, a $5,000 fine, a $4,300 special assessment, and $19,530 in restitution. Judge Gallagher also barred McPherson from working in the aviation industry.
McPherson pleaded guilty in October to involuntary manslaughter, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, obstruction of an administrative proceeding, and 40 counts of serving as an airman without a certificate.
The backstory:
Court filings show that on September 28, 2022, McPherson took off from Queen City Airport in Allentown as the pilot-in-command with student pilot K.K. and crashed shortly after, resulting in K.K.’s death.
Prosecutors said McPherson acted with gross negligence, knowing he was not competent to fly as pilot-in-command. He had two prior crashes, nearly a third, and failed a reexamination for his pilot’s certificate in September 2021.
McPherson voluntarily surrendered his pilot’s certificate in October 2021 and let his Temporary Airman Certificate expire in November 2021, acknowledging his inability to meet FAA standards.
He admitted to flying with passengers without a valid FAA pilot’s certificate between October 12, 2021, and September 20, 2022.
Investigators from the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, FAA, and Salisbury Township Police Department worked on the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert Schopf and Special Assistant United States Attorney Marie Miller.
What we don’t know:
Authorities have not released further details about the circumstances leading up to the crash.
The Source: Information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
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