Essex County sees major drop in homicide cases, prosecutor says
Homicide rates in Essex County have dropped to its lowest in decades, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office stated on Friday.
The acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II announced that a review of the Uniform Crime Reporting statistics for Essex County in 2023 revealed 57 homicides have been committed so far compared to 78 homicides in 2022 - a decline of 27 percent.
The prosecutor said that 86 percent of the 2023 homicides have resulted in criminal charges being issued against a suspect. In comparison, the national clearance rate for homicide cases is 52.3 percent, according to the FBI.
Nearly every municipality in Essex County has seen a drop in homicide numbers. Newark has 43 homicides so far in 2023 as opposed to 50 in 2022. East Orange's homicide rate dropped from 11 the previous year to three in 2023.
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Most homicides came as a result of firearms. Forty-five of the homicides in Essex were firearm-related. Eight of the homicides in the county were stabbings.
Stephens says their job is far from finished. “This is by no means a victory lap since each homicide represents a loss of life..." said the prosecutor. “We will continue to work in close partnership with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to reduce all violent crime in Essex County, especially homicide.”
Essex County homicide rates
Here is a year-by-by look at the homicide rates from Essex County from Uniform Crime Reporting statistics, courtesy of the Essex County Prosecutor's Office:
2023 − 57
2022 − 78
2021 − 91
2020 − 78
2019 − 75
2018 − 99
2017 − 103
2016 − 124
2015 − 141
2014 − 119
2013 − 147
2012 − 121
2011 − 126
2010 − 121
2009 − 117
2008 − 107
2007 − 148
2006 − 146
2005 − 147
2004 − 136
2003 − 141
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Essex County NJ sees drop in homicide cases, prosecutor says
