By ROBERT LINNEHAN
Cherry Hill followed suit with the state as the township saw its uniform crime rate drop in 2009. Overall crime in the state dropped 9 percent from the 2008 rate, reported Attorney General Paula T. Dow as she released the 2009 Uniform Crime Report.
Cherry Hill Police Officer William Kushina said the department is heartened by the decrease in the overall crime incidents in the township. In 2009 the number of incidents dropped to 2,274 from 2,441 in 2008.
Cherry Hill is following the county, state, and national trend of violent crime incident dropping in 2009. Violent crime decreased by 15 incidents to 99 in 2009.
Cherry Hill again had one murder in 2009, the same as 2008.
Robbery increased in 2009 to 54 incidents, up from 45 in 2008. It can be a hard number to qualify though, Kushina said, because technically a shoplifting incident where the suspect pushes someone or puts up a struggle with an employee has to be classified as a robbery. They’re typically downgraded to aggravated shop lifting, Kushina said, but initially have to be reported as a robbery.
Property crimes will likely increase into 2010 as well, Kushina said, with cars being broken into at an accelerated rate this year. They’re easy targets for someone just looking to steal some valuables or loose change to buy their next high, Kushina said.
“These numbers don’t reflect the ways the crimes are solved. These are the reported crimes, but the majority of these have been solved,” Kushina said.
He did not have the exact number of incidents that were solved in 2009.
According to the report total violent crime in the state dropped for the eighth year in a row, with rape, robbery, and aggravated assault incidents also on the decline.
Murders also dropped in 2009, with only 320 cases down from 376 in 2008.
Non-violent crime decreased by more than 9 percent as well from 2008. Non-violent crime consists of burglaries, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft.
According to the state, the annual UCR, prepared by the State Police Uniform Crime Reporting Unit, measures offenses committed during the period spanning from Jan. 1, 2009, through Dec. 31, 2009.
“Our latest crime data shows reductions in just about all major categories of crime. This is testimony to the skill and dedication of the men and women of our law enforcement community,” Dow said in a press release. “While I am encouraged by this downward trend in the overall crime index and violent crime, law enforcement will have to continue to work even harder and smarter, especially during this economic crisis facing our state and nation.”
