N.J. murder rate drops by 24% in first half

TRENTON - Homicides in New Jersey dropped by 24 percent in the first six months of 2009 compared with the same time last year, Gov. Corzine said yesterday.

There were 158 homicides reported from January through June, compared with 209 during the same stretch in 2008.

In Camden, homicides were cut nearly in half in the first six months this year compared with the same time in 2008. In the first half of this year, there were 17 killings in Camden, compared with 30 in that time last year, according to police statistics.

Corzine tied the statewide decrease to his two-year-old antiviolence initiative.

"The release of these crime report statistics shows that we are winning important battles in the war against violent criminals and gangs," Corzine said in a statement.

Killings overall in New Jersey were down to 376 last year from 381 in 2007, both down from the peak of 427 in 2006, according to Attorney General Anne Milgram's office.

Corzine did not release broader crime figures for the start of this year, however, or give a complete picture of crime in 2008, other than to report that violent crime fell by 0.7 percent last year compared with 2007.

His administration did not provide a breakdown of 2009 murders by county.

The state has yet to detail its full findings for 2008 crime.

The latest information comes three months after state officials said overall crime was up in the first half of 2008 compared with the first half of 2007, although violent crime was down in that stretch.

The New York Times reported Sunday that homicides appear to be broadly falling in American cities, though there was no unifying explanation for that trend.

Corzine coupled his announcement on the first-half murder rate with statistics on his anticrime initiative, which he launched in 2007 as violent crime surged.

His office said the effort had led to more than 4,220 arrests and drugs seized at a street value of more than $9.3 million.

New Jersey soon will roll out NJ CrimeTrack, a database that will let law enforcement share intelligence on gangs, Milgram said.

The database would be different from one unveiled earlier this year and involves regional law enforcement meetings at which information is shared, said David Wald, Attorney General's Office spokesman.