The state police have released the end-of-the-year Uniform Crime Report for 2015, and, compared to 2014, the crime rate is up in Haddonfield, but barely.
Haddonfield had a 2.2 percent increase in crime from 2014 to 2015. Last year, there were 189 total crimes compared to 185 in 2014.
According to Haddonfield Police Chief Ted Stuessy, it is hard to pinpoint the cause of the increase, but that each year crime fluctuates. However, he made note that Haddonfield’s numbers are very low for Camden County. Comparatively, there were 455 crimes reported in Collingswood in 2015.
“We are well within a good range for this particular county,” Stuessy said. “Any time you have a lower crime rate, you’re happy. We can’t attribute (the low crime rate) to one specific thing.”
There were a number of categories that increased, including rape, robbery, simple assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft; however, they were by one to three incidents. The only significant increase in the crime report was the number of aggravated assaults. In 2014, there were two compared to seven in 2015. As before, Stuessy said it is hard to say why that increased.
“That is a significant jump, but it is still low and can’t really be attributed to a reason,” Stuessy said.
Larceny was down, from 131 in 2014 to 123 in 2015.
Some changes that happened to the Haddonfield Police Department in 2015 included retirements and the hiring of four new officers, including a new female full-time officer; the installation of a police vehicle with a dashboard camera; the integration of an automated records management system, which helps exchange information between police departments; the Haddonfield Police and Community Appreciation Day; and the police force labor contract being settled. During his part of the annual State of the Borough Address, Commissioner Neal Rochford said detectives solved a significant armed robbery case at Rite Aid and a strong-arm robbery at 7-Eleven last year. They also apprehended the person breaking into homes on Hawthorne Avenue last November.
For this year, Stuessy hopes to continue to expand the department’s equipment.
“We hope to always expand and keep our equipment current. Our police cars are somewhat equipped with videos and we want to continue to build into it every year so we have the full department outfitted,” Stuessy
Stuessy reminded residents to be mindful of their environment and be sure to lock car doors. If anyone sees any suspicious activities, be sure to report it.
“We are accessible 24 hours a day. Please don’t feel like it is an inconvenience to contact us. If you see something suspicious, we would rather hear about it first before finding out about it later,” Stuessy said.
The department can be reached by calling (856) 429–3000. For emergencies, be sure to call 911.
To see the full Uniform Crime report, visit www.njsp.org/info/stats.html and click on Current Crime Data.
