FBI Says Hate Crimes Were In 172 NJ Towns: Here's Where

NEW JERSEY – New FBI data shows that 172 New Jersey towns had hate crimes that harmed communities from throughout the state. The data release comes as new, chilling information was released in what Gov. Phil Murphy called a deadly "hate crime" in Jersey City.

The FBI recently published its “Hate Crimes Statistics” report, showing that nearly every county in New Jersey had incidents of crimes that were fueled by hate toward race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender and gender identity (see list of towns below, starting with the highest).

The towns with highest number from 2018 data included communities with low overall crime rates such as Deal in Monmouth County, which had the second highest number per capita in the state, and Sea Girt, also in Monmouth, which was ninth.

The reports comes as New Jersey was still coming to grips with the horrific shooting deaths of six people in Jersey City. A suspected shooter in what New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy called a deadly "hate crime" reportedly left behind a horrifying note before the attack. Read more: Horrifying Note Reportedly From Attacker In Jersey City Killings

Also, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said on Twitter Friday that "it’ll become increasingly clear that the target was the 50 children at the Yeshiva attached to that store," he said, referring to the kosher grocery where five of the people died. Read more: Gov. Murphy: Jersey City Attack Was 'Hate-Crime;' Video Released

A police officer died at a nearby cemetery before the two attackers, fueled by hate toward Jewish people and law enforcement, attacked the Jersey City Kosher Supermarket on Tuesday, authorities said.

"We will never know 100 percent but the doorway to the Yeshiva was 3 feet away," Fulop said.

In the FBI report, there was slight decrease in hate crimes nationally in 2018 compared with 2017. The FBI found that the reported number of hate crimes in the United States decreased slightly from 7,175 incidents in 2017 to 7,120 in 2018.

In New Jersey, however, the agencies reported 571 hate crimes to the FBI, an increase of 76 incidents, or 15 percent, from the number of documented hate crimes in 2017.

Whether fewer hate crimes were reported to police in 2018 than 2017 is difficult to ascertain because 110 fewer law enforcement agencies nationally participated in the program overall compared with the previous year.

In 2018, 16,039 agencies participated in the report; however, only 2,026 submitted incident reports about hate crimes. The remaining agencies reported no hate crimes to the FBI.

Here were the hate crime numbers in 172 New Jersey towns per 10,000 people:

1. Woodbury 16.42
2. Deal 13.70
3. Keansburg 11.26
4. Hillsdale 8.58
5. Madison 8.21
6. Neptune Township 6.47
7. Boonton 6.07
8. Haworth 5.78
9. Sea Girt 5.66
10. Rockaway Township 5.53
11. Brooklawn 5.25
12. Evesham Township2 5.07
13. Pompton Lakes 4.52
14. Franklin Lakes 4.47
15. Delanco Township 4.44
16. Beverly 4.00
17. Hightstown 3.78
18. Bridgeton 3.69
19. Mansfield Township, Burlington County 3.50
20. Closter 3.45
21. Pitman 3.45
22. Moorestown Township 3.41
23. East Brunswick Township 3.10
24. Monmouth Beach 3.10
25. Stanhope 3.02
26. New Providence 3.01
27. Tuckerton 3.00
28. Medford Township 2.97
29. Merchantville 2.69
30. Westfield2 2.67
31. Howell Township 2.66
32. Lambertville 2.62
33. Cranbury Township 2.56
34. Newton 2.56
35. Manalapan Township 2.49
36. Englewood 2.41
37. Shrewsbury 2.40
38. Spotswood 2.39
39. North Haledon 2.36
40. Summit 2.26
41. Point Pleasant Beach 2.24
42. Hopewell Township 2.22
43. Highlands 2.09
44. Hanover Township 2.06
45. Mendham 2.04
46. Ridgewood 1.97
47. Ocean Township, Monmouth County 1.86
48. Haddonfield 1.78
49. South Orange Village 1.78
50. Lakewood Township 1.75
51. South Brunswick Township2 1.73
52. Paulsboro 1.72
53. Tinton Falls 1.69
54. Aberdeen Township 1.63
55. Maple Shade Township 1.60
56. Randolph Township 1.57
57. Washington Township, Warren County 1.55
58. Marlboro Township 1.49
59. Mountainside 1.44
60. Little Falls Township 1.40
61. Berlin 1.33
62. Fort Lee 1.33
63. Glen Ridge 1.31
64. Emerson 1.30
65. Hardyston Township 1.28
66. Hoboken 1.27
67. Riverside Township 1.27
68. Bloomingdale 1.22
69. Oradell 1.21
70. Holmdel Township 1.20
71. Northfield 1.20
72. New Milford 1.20
73. Freehold Township 1.15
74. Westampton Township 1.14
75. Chatham 1.14
76. Hamilton Township, Mercer County2 1.14
77. Dumont 1.12
78. Dover 1.11
79. Leonia 1.09
80. Sparta Township 1.07
81. West Windsor Township 1.06
82. Mount Holly Township 1.04
83. Voorhees Township2 1.03
84. Burlington City 1.02
85. East Rutherford 1.01
86. Colts Neck Township 1.01
87. Millburn Township 0.99
88. River Vale Township 0.98
89. Lincoln Park 0.97
90. Totowa 0.94
91. Roselle 0.92
92. East Hanover Township 0.90
93. Gloucester City 0.90
94. Hackensack 0.89
95. Monroe Township, Middlesex County 0.88
96. Montgomery Township 0.85
97. Cherry Hill Township 0.85
98. Freehold Borough 0.84
99. West Orange 0.83
100. Bordentown Township 0.81
101. Lodi 0.81
102. Cedar Grove Township 0.80
103. Harrison Township 0.77
104. Montclair 0.77
105. Ridgefield Park 0.77
106. Paramus 0.75
107. Verona 0.74
108. Wayne Township 0.74
109. Berkeley Heights Township 0.73
110. Millville 0.72
111. Highland Park 0.71
112. Metuchen 0.70
113. Tenafly 0.68
114. Livingston Township 0.67
115. Rahway 0.66
116. Toms River Township 0.65
117. Weehawken Township 0.64
118. North Bergen Township2 0.63
119. North Arlington 0.63
120. Middletown Township 0.61
121. Old Bridge Township 0.60
122. Cinnaminson Township 0.60
123. Fair Lawn 0.60
124. Denville Township 0.60
125. Galloway Township 0.55
126. Monroe Township, Gloucester County 0.55
127. Middle Township 0.54
128. Washington Township, Morris County 0.54
129. Piscataway Township 0.52
130. Secaucus 0.49
131. Pleasantville 0.48
132. Mount Laurel Township 0.48
133. Jefferson Township 0.47
134. Little Egg Harbor Township 0.47
135. Montville Township 0.47
136. Linden 0.47
137. Clifton 0.47
138. Lower Township 0.46
139. Egg Harbor Township 0.46
140. Raritan Township 0.45
141. Morris Township 0.45
142. Bridgewater Township 0.44
143. Barnegat Township 0.44
144. Carteret 0.42
145. South Plainfield 0.41
146. Scotch Plains Township 0.41
147. Maplewood Township 0.41
148. Edison Township 0.39
149. Mahwah Township 0.38
150. West New York 0.37
151. Pemberton Township 0.37
152. Vineland 0.33
153. Long Branch 0.33
154. Princeton 0.31
155. Willingboro Township 0.31
156. Union City 0.29
157. Pennsauken Township 0.28
158. Winslow Township 0.26
159. Hillsborough Township 0.25
160. Teaneck Township 0.24
161. Washington Township, Gloucester County 0.21
162. Woodbridge Township 0.20
163. Parsippany-Troy Hills Township 0.19
164. New Brunswick 0.18
165. Jackson Township 0.18
166. East Orange 0.15
167. Franklin Township, Somerset County 0.15
168. Jersey City 0.15
169. Camden County Police Department 0.14
170. Brick Township 0.13
171. Hamilton Township, Atlantic County 0.11
172. Elizabeth 0.08

Here are the numbers of hate crimes per town:

• Evesham Township 23
• Lakewood Township 18
• Neptune Township 18
• Woodbury 16
• East Brunswick Township 15
• Howell Township 14
• Rockaway Township 14
• Madison 13
• Keansburg 11
• Manalapan Township 10
• Bridgeton 9
• Hillsdale 9
• South Brunswick Township2 8
• Westfield2 8
• Englewood 7
• Hoboken 7
• Medford Township 7
• Moorestown Township 7
• Cherry Hill Township 6
• Marlboro Township 6
• Toms River Township 6
• Boonton 5
• Fort Lee 5
• Franklin Lakes 5
• Ocean Township, Monmouth County 5
• Pompton Lakes 5
• Ridgewood 5
• Summit 5
• Clifton 4
• Edison Township 4
• Freehold Township 4
• Hackensack 4
• Hopewell Township 4
• Jersey City 4
• Middletown Township 4
• Monroe Township, Middlesex County 4
• New Providence 4
• North Bergen Township2 4
• Old Bridge Township 4
• Randolph Township 4
• Wayne Township 4
• West Orange 4
• Aberdeen Township 3
• Closter 3
• Hamilton Township, Mercer County2 3
• Hanover Township 3
• Mansfield Township, Burlington County 3
• Maple Shade Township 3
• Montclair 3
• Piscataway Township 3
• Pitman 3
• South Orange Village 3
• Tinton Falls 3
• Voorhees Township2 3
• West Windsor Township 3
• Bridgewater Township 2
• Delanco Township 2
• Dover 2
• Dumont 2
• Egg Harbor Township 2
• Fair Lawn 2
• Galloway Township 2
• Haddonfield 2
• Haworth 2
• Hightstown 2
• Holmdel Township 2
• Linden 2
• Little Falls Township 2
• Livingston Township 2
• Lodi 2
• Millburn Township 2
• Millville 2
• Monroe Township, Gloucester County 2
• Montgomery Township 2
• Mount Laurel Township 2
• New Milford 2
• Newton 2
• North Haledon 2
• Paramus 2
• Rahway 2
• Roselle 2
• Sparta Township 2
• Spotswood 2
• Union City 2
• Vineland 2
• West New York 2
• Woodbridge Township 2
• Barnegat Township 1
• Berkeley Heights Township 1
• Berlin 1
• Beverly 1
• Bloomingdale 1
• Bordentown Township 1
• Brick Township 1
• Brooklawn 1
• Burlington City 1
• Camden County Police Department 1
• Carteret 1
• Cedar Grove Township 1
• Chatham 1
• Cinnaminson Township 1
• Colts Neck Township 1
• Cranbury Township 1
• Deal 1
• Denville Township 1
• East Hanover Township 1
• East Orange 1
• East Rutherford 1
• Elizabeth 1
• Emerson 1
• Franklin Township, Somerset County 1
• Freehold Borough 1
• Glen Ridge 1
• Gloucester City 1
• Hamilton Township, Atlantic County 1
• Hardyston Township 1
• Harrison Township 1
• Highland Park 1
• Highlands 1
• Hillsborough Township 1
• Jackson Township 1
• Jefferson Township 1
• Lambertville 1
• Leonia 1
• Lincoln Park 1
• Little Egg Harbor Township 1
• Long Branch 1
• Lower Township 1
• Mahwah Township 1
• Maplewood Township 1
• Mendham 1
• Merchantville 1
• Metuchen 1
• Middle Township 1
• Monmouth Beach 1
• Montville Township 1
• Morris Township 1
• Mountainside 1
• Mount Holly Township 1
• New Brunswick 1
• North Arlington 1
• Northfield 1
• Oradell 1
• Parsippany-Troy Hills Township 1
• Paulsboro 1
• Pemberton Township 1
• Pennsauken Township 1
• Pleasantville 1
• Point Pleasant Beach 1
• Princeton 1
• Raritan Township 1
• Ridgefield Park 1
• Riverside Township 1
• River Vale Township 1
• Scotch Plains Township 1
• Sea Girt 1
• Secaucus 1
• Shrewsbury 1
• South Plainfield 1
• Stanhope 1
• Teaneck Township 1
• Tenafly 1
• Totowa 1
• Tuckerton 1
• Verona 1
• Washington Township, Gloucester County 1
• Washington Township, Morris County 1
• Washington Township, Warren County 1
• Weehawken Township 1
• Westampton Township 1
• Willingboro Township 1
• Winslow Township 1

According to the FBI, a majority of the victims nationally (59.6 percent) were targeted because of a bias toward race, ethnicity or ancestry. The second most common reason a victim was targeted was because of religion (18.7 percent), followed by sexual orientation (15.8 percent), gender identity (2.2 percent), disability (2.1 percent) and gender (0.7 percent), according to the statistics.

The FBI says 53.6 percent of the known offenders were white, 24 percent were black or African American, and other races accounted for the remaining known offenders. The percentages for white and black or African American known offenders both increased by about 3 percent from 2017. According to the FBI, a “known offender” does not imply that a suspect’s identity is known but that “some aspect of the suspect was identified.”

“Before a community addresses hate- and bias-motivated crimes, all stakeholders need to understand the local problem,” the U.S. Department of Justice advises. “The best assessment method is the SARA model: scanning for the problems, analyzing the facts, responding to reduce the problems, and assessing the outcome of the response.”

The Department of Justice also provides a list of tips to help ensure local law enforcement is partnered with the community in a joint mission to stop hate crimes from happening.

• Network with others in the community and ask who they recommend including in the partnership.
• Research and understand how involved your local law enforcement agency is with community policing, and identify a liaison officer at your local law enforcement agency who might serve as a point of contact.
• Reach out to the chief of police or sheriff, as well as any other key personnel you would like to participate in the partnership.
• Focus on solutions rather than problems when meeting with your local chief or police or sheriff.

Hate crimes are currently the highest investigative priority of the FBI’s civil rights program, according to the agency.