Crime Down in Toms River in 2013, Report Shows

Despite statistics that show Toms River as the state's eighth largest municipality for heroin abuse, crime overall was down about 13 percent in 2013 compared to 2012.

The New Jersey State Police issued their final report this week on 2013 crime data, which showed Toms River police charged 3,183 crimes in 2013 compared with 3,682 crimes in 2012.

Of those crimes where a statistically significant change was reported, burglaries were down 25.6 percent between the two years, from 640 in 2012 to 476 in 2013. Thefts were down by a more nominal margin of 9 percent, from 2,215 in 2012 to 2,004 in 2013.

A total of 23 vehicles were stolen in 2013 compared with 38 in 2012 – a 39.5 percent drop.

Robberies involving a weapon or strong-arm tactics edged up slightly, from 40 to 42 between the two years, while assaults involving a weapon and aggravated assaults dropped from 37 to 17. Simple assaults were down slightly, from 707 in 2012 to 617 in 2013.

There were no murders in Toms River in 2013, compared to two in 2012, the statistics showed. The number of rapes rose from three to four between the two years.