New Jersey

New Jersey sees spike in incidents of bias in 2023

Published

2 years ago

March 7, 2024

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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New Jersey

Isolated snow showers, wind gusts up to 35 mph in N.J. forecast for Sunday

Published

2 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Isolated snow showers, wind gusts up to 35 mph in N.J. forecast for Sunday

Rain will continue through tonight across New Jersey before a cold front passes through Sunday morning, followed by wind gusts up to 35 mph and the chance of isolated snow showers.

The heaviest rain tonight is expected along the southern portions of the state where 1 and 1.5 inches rainfall totals are possible, according to the National Weather Service.

Most other areas of New Jersey should receive around 1 inch of rain, with the northwest portions of the state picking up 0.5 to 0.75 inches.

Heavy rain is expected to soak New Jersey through most of Saturday with rainfall totals up to 1.5 inches expected in the southern half of the state.National Weather Service

Once the rain ends between 6 and 9 a.m. Sunday, conditions should remain cloudy and foggy until a cold front passes through late Sunday morning into early Sunday afternoon.

Temperatures will drop into the upper 30s to low 40s Sunday morning as cold air moves in behind the first cold front.

A secondary cold front will cross New Jersey late Sunday afternoon accompanied by a period of rain and snow showers.

The isolated snow showers are possible mainly from 7 to 11 p.m., the weather service said. Snow accumulations are not expected in New Jersey.

Winds of 15 to 20 mph on Sunday afternoon are expected to increase to 25 to 35 mph by sunset.

Monday’s forecast calls for mainly clear skies with temperatures in the upper 30s to low 40s and winds gradually diminishing.

Tuesday will be milder with above-normal temperatures and mainly clear to partly cloudy skies, with a slight chance of some rain showers possible.

Wednesday’s temperatures will remain above normal with partly cloudy skies and a slight chance of rain showers as a cold front approaches from the west.

N.J. weather: Snow from costal winter storm possible next week — Forecasters are tracking the potential for a coastal storm that could bring snow to New Jersey late next week, or veer out to sea.AccuWeather.com

A potential coastal storm could impact New Jersey with snow on Thursday and Friday, though significant uncertainty remains regarding the exact track and timing of the system, the weather service said.

Some forecast models suggest a significant winter storm while others indicate the system will remain offshore.

A colder air mass is forecast to move into New Jersey by late next week and into the following weekend.

Current weather radar

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New Jersey

NJ officers surprised with Eagles playoffs tickets for saving boy who fell through ice

Published

14 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

NJ officers surprised with Eagles playoffs tickets for saving boy who fell through ice

Officers in Gloucester County, New Jersey, got a big surprise on Friday morning.

A representative from Dunkin’ gave them free tickets to this weekend’s Eagles playoff game as a huge thank you for their courageous actions last weekend.

It was a tense scene in Woolwich Township when officers used ropes and went into a frozen body of water to save a child who had fallen through the ice.

“As soon as he started screaming that he couldn’t feel his hands, I just went out there and tried to go get him,” Sgt. Joseph Rieger said. “Immediately thought of my own son and what I would have done with my own son- just go out and get him as soon as I could.”

The boy was screaming and was not able to grab onto the rope that the officers had thrown to him.

“I try to get him the rescue rope but he can’t hold it because his hands aren’t working. So I go to grab him out of the awter and we both go into the water. So I was able to stand up and throw him on top of the ice and start breaking my way back,” Rieger explained.

The team was able to get the 13-year-old out of the frozen water with no one getting hurt.

Then, Dunkin’ showed up to the police department for Law Enforcement Appreciation Day and praised their actions by giving them tickets to Sunday’s Eagles playoff game against the 49ers.

“This is my job. It was what I signed up to do so getting this kind of attention, I’m not used to it. I’m very appreciative and very excited,” Rieger said.

The officers said that if there’s anything to take away from this story, it’s to stay off of the ice.

Thankfully, the boy they saved is doing just fine and stopped by the police department earlier this week to thank them.

“It was awesome. It was nice to see that he was safe. He learned his lesson. He was very appreciative,” Rieger said.

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