City Taking the Press to Task for ‘Refusing’ to Report Positive Crime Stats

By • Jan 26th, 2010 • Category: Blog, News

Last week, the city issued a press release touting new statistics that “show record declines” in robberies, burglaries and auto theft in 2009 and a decline in almost every crime stat category last year. Overall, the city says violent crimes dropped by 15.6 percent, while nonviolent crimes fell by 19.9 percent. The only category in which the number ticked higher was the one that tends to get the most attention, with homicides increasing by two to 28. (You can read the release here if you’d like.)

The city is following up that release with a press conference tomorrow at 11 am, aimed at “address[ing] the news media’s refusal to print and broadcast this positive story regarding crime instead of the usual ‘if it bleeds, it leads’ type crime story.” The release, with the snappy headline “CRIME DROP A 30 YEAR LOW – Still Big Secret, Media Refuses to Report It,” continues: “Mayor Healy will show how police and community efforts are paying off with 30-year lows in major crime categories, facts that were widely distributed nearly a week ago, yet all media outlets refused to acknowledge.”

It seems like the administration, which has been known to sometimes rumble with our city’s tabloid daily, is once again taking aim at the Jersey Journal here. After all, of the three news outlets that cover the city with any sort of regularity, the JJ might be the only one that the allegations levied in the second press release actually apply to. As the Reporter notes, it ran a web story on the initial stats release. As for us, we never even received the damn thing, which kind of hampered our ability to acknowledge it. (In an ironic twist, while we didn’t receive the initial press release, we did receive the second press release complaining about the lack of coverage of the first.)

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is the founding editor of the Jersey City Independent; he now works for a public-policy nonprofit in Trenton.
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  • Griot Silva

    I respectfully wish to differ … when MOST of our local politicians have been indicted, and are about to be incarcerated, for taking bribes and other acts of grotesque, habitual corruption – including our beloved, Patron of the Arts, former Council President Mariano Vega Jr – how can we but ridicule – after laughing, literally rolling about in incredulous laughter! – this TOTALLY ABSURD headline, “CRIME DROP A 30 YEAR LOW”!

    Quite the contrary … against the patient and trusting citizens, home owners and tax payers of Jersey City, “CRIME REACHES A 30 YEAR HIGH” as perverse institutionalized corruption has totally penetrated our whole system of government. My message to ALL our local politicians, specially our alcohol-loving Mayor: “Shut the F$$k Up and get back to Work!”. And if you don’t want to work 24/7 for the tax payers of Jersey City, resign today! It could not be too soon!