Jersey City (Crime over the years)

Submitted by DarthGabe2142 t3_10is3fo in jerseycity

Hello,

I've been living in NJ my whole life and go to Jersey City once every month or two. I noticed just how much construction of new apartments there is recently. How bad was crime in the past? Was Jersey City a very dangerous city at one point or has crime rate relatively remained stagnant. I'm just curious to know. I know that across the river in NYC, crime was out of control during the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

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Comments

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thegreatestrobot3 t1_j5g9438 wrote

not a native but grew up in NJ - JC has changed *a lot*, it was pretty violent back in the day. Five Finger Discount by Helene Stapinski is a good read and gives some pretty good insight into what it was like in the 60s-70s.

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possums101 t1_j5gf1im wrote

Why would you come to Reddit with this question

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RollinRibs25 t1_j5gnazy wrote

Replying to DarthGabe2142 (#1,441,469)

Maybe 10% of the people on this sub llive in JC and leave their phones long enough to notice any tyoe of crime rate. JC used to be comoletley fucked. Now its semi fucked. I think overall that sums up new jersey. Not that i think anybody in new jersey has the slightest idea whats going oj outside their own windows. Let the downvotes begin. Up yours, New jersey.

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7ave_dude t1_j5h2hpv wrote

Actually the main problems especially in the JSQ area are dirty streets, garbage everywhere, dog poop, broken sidewalks , city workers don't give a shit about it, so yeah Corruptions running wild and most likely crimes too.

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driftingwood2018 t1_j5h8vn7 wrote

I’ve lived downtown JC for 11 years now. Personally never had anything happen to me. Haven’t witnessed any significant crime or anything during my time here. I spend about half my life walking the streets with my dogs. I’ve seen a lot of weird shit, but never witnessed rampant crime per se. So yea. I’d say it’s pretty darn safe.

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whybother5000 t1_j5hk600 wrote

An 11 year downtown resident here (and a year back in the day but in jsq) and the only frequent crimes to me are the bad drivers / messenger bikers. Some property theft issues here and there. Otherwise it’s standard issue NYC area bad behavior — fare evasion, double parking, general assholery.

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PICHICONCACA t1_j5hpl9o wrote

Been here all my life. If you weren’t raised here you won’t understand this but if you mind you business and keep your head down and don’t make eye contact then you’re good. Nothing I hate more than making small talk with strangers.

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Ainsel72l t1_j5io06u wrote

Replying to Yr9012 (#1,444,045)

I'm not sure what you mean about the city being less diverse, but there were gangs that beat up on minorities back then, notably the Dot Busters and the Bones, who were violent and despicable. Most people can't jump up and move when these things happen, so I don't think there was a mass exodus of any type. Aside from that, there was also run of the mill robberies, car thefts, etc.

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mikevago t1_j5kzoab wrote

25 years ago, Jersey City was the poorest city in America, so, yes, there was a lot of crime (as there was in cities nationwide in that era). Then after 9/11, a lot of Wall Street firms that had been in or near the WTC moved here, so it was the poorest city in America, plus Wall Street. In the intervening decades, the middle (and in particular the upper middle) has filled in quite a bit.

And the result has been a precipitous drop in crime. The overall crime rate is about half what it was in 2005, and there were 12 murders in the whole city in 2022, which might be the lowest number in the entire history of Jersey City.

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Catarmy1 t1_j61zy2m wrote

Its worse here in jc the amount off police is less over the last few years New buildings bring in out of town criminal types Because there is more to get The police in jersey city are great but they are limited

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