Apr 25, 2022, 9:49amUpdated on Apr 25, 2022
By: News 12 Staff
The cities of Camden, Trenton and Paterson cracked the top 100 in a recent violent crime ranking.
The cities are on a list of the 100 most dangerous cities in the United States for 2022.
The list was put together by neighborhoodscout.com, an online database of U.S. neighborhood analytics that was created in 2002.
The website uses the violent crime rate per 1,000 residents as its criteria to determine how likely one is to become a victim of a crime in that particular city.
Camden came in on the list at No. 14., where one out of every 64 residents could become a violent crime victim, Trenton ranks at No. 57, where it's one out of 93, and Paterson ranks at No. 97, where it's one out of 111.
No. 1 in the list was the town of Monroe, Louisiana. The state had three cities of its own on the list, which included New Orleans.
Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh said he is addressing the issue directly.
"We don't like being on that list, but our goal is to get off the list, but primarily, to keep Paterson residents safe," he said.
Sayegh said improvements in Paterson continue, which include the confiscation of illegal guns and additional police officers.
"I've been adding police officers every year. Actually, since I've been in office for four short years, 121 new police officers. Now have an academy with 17 more and then another academy, we're hoping to have 25 more police officers," Sayegh said.
In response, Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora told News 12 New Jersey in a statement, "Public safety continues to be a challenge for mid-size cities across the nation. As Trenton continues to reemerge from the pandemic with the reopening of state offices, with kids returning to schools, and parents returning to work, we hope all these conditions will improve. Trenton is also seeing more development opportunities and people still investing in our city."
In a statement,Camden MayorVictor Carstarphen says,“The Camden County PoliceDepartment has become a model for community policing across in New Jersey andacross the county. The historic lows in crime and improvements in publicsafety have played a key role in Camden’s transformation. We areincredibly proud of our officers, they are role models for our youth andleaders in our community. The officers and leadership of the CamdenCounty Police Department have helped make our neighborhoods safe, they haveearned the trust of our residents and they remain committed to the mission ofimproving the quality of life in Camden. Unfortunately, Camden often getspainted with a broad brush. In the past Camden has been put onunsavory lists like this one with no base or reasoning. It is not onlyinaccurate but unfair to our residents, our businesses, local economy, ourfaith-based community and our stakeholders. The fact is, Camden is muchsafer today than it was almost a decade ago. Our City and all of ourpartners, have worked incredibly hard to transform itself into a model 21st centurycity. Calling Camden the “most dangerous city” is simply a falsenarrative. The facts are: Camden has witnessed its lowest crime in50 years, realized over $3 billion dollars in new investment, unemploymentrates continue to trend down, schools are improving, and the City is viewed asfinancially stable (bond rating up to A-). These are just a few examplesof the unparalleled progress Camden has made. Keep in mind, public safetyhas been an important catalyst for the change. The truth is, Camden is awelcoming city with loving residents. We have a great pride, great history,incredible athletic, academic and artistic talent and we work tirelessly everyday to make a community stronger.”
