Scotch Plains Named One Of NJ's Safest Towns: Report

SCOTCH PLAINS, NJ — How safe are you in Scotch Plains? According to a new study done by Safewise, pretty safe, as the township was named the 79th safest city in New Jersey.

Scotch Plains Township, which boasts a population of 24,380 earned top marks with a 0.6 violent crime rate and a 6.6 property crime rate for 2021. Safewise uses a metric of rate per thousand.

For the purposes of this report, the terms "safest" and "dangerous" refer explicitly to crime rates as calculated from FBI crime data—no other characterization of any community is implied or intended, officials said.

Some key points from the report:

• Last year, the top three cities all reported zero violent crimes—this year seven cities went without a single reported violent crime (Chatham Township, Woolwich Township, Glen Rock, New Providence, River Edge, Lincoln Park, and Verona). The addition of property crime to the overall score is why these seven aren't all at the top of the list.
• Thirty-two cities (64 percent) improved in rank year over year, with Hopatcong making the biggest jump—100 spots from 116 to 16.
• Eighteen cities (36 percent) dropped in rank this year.
• Every city on the list beat both state (2.1) and national (3.7) crime rates and every city kept violent crime to less than one incident per 1,000.
• Only four cities reported 10 or more violent crimes and Manchester Township had the most, with a paltry 15.
• Only 195 total violent crime incidents were reported among the safest cities.
• There were only three murders among the safest cities.
• Forty cities (80 percent) reported fewer than 100 total property crimes, and River Vale Township had the fewest with 24, followed by Kinnelon with 25.

For more on the methodology, check out the Safewise website.

— Additional reporting by Russ Crespolini

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