Crime Rate Remains Stable in Brick, Report Shows

The number of crimes reported in Brick remained largely stable in 2010, as compared to the previous year, but five-year trends still show crime on the uptick.

The FBI released statistics this week on the number of reported crimes in numerous categories. Altogether, there were 104 incidents of violent crime in Brick in 2010 – one instance of murder or voluntary manslaughter, seven rapes, 16 arsons, 26 robberies, 70 aggravated assaults, 333 burglaries and 39 motor vehicle thefts.

There were 1,372 property crimes reported and 1,000 larcenies of some kind.

"The numbers are trending upward, but not in any great leaps and bounds," said Police Chief Nils R. Bergquist.

The chief said the department will try to keep 125 officers on staff in order to maintain its current service levels. Ten officers were hired in recent weeks to replace a similar number of officers who are retiring or have already retired. Most of the officers just hired will spend 22 weeks in the police academy, then spend time in field training, before hitting the street. The entire process takes about 10 months.

"The number of people we're able to put out on the road affects response time as well as the quantity and quality of all of our investigations," the chief said, when asked about the importance of maintaining staffing levels.

But, Bergquist said, the overall trend of increasing crime can be caused by a number of factors, including the poor economy (which some studies say lead to increased drug-related crime) or even anomalies that can throw the statistics, such as a statewide uptick in bank robberies in 2008 and 2009 that helped spike violent crime numbers in some towns. In Brick, police have solved all of the bank robbery cases to date, the chief said.

The year-to-year changes between 2009 and 2010 were minimal – there were some slight increases and decreases in a few categories of crime – but the total number of violent crimes rose from 44 in 2005 to 104 in 2010, after peaking in 2009 at 124.

Table Source: FBI

Bergquist said anti-crime measures could be aided if enough manpower returns to reactivate the Selective Enforcement, or SET, team, a unit specializing in surveillance, plainclothes, high-visibility and anti-gang operations. Most of the property crime in Brick is committed by people addicted to some type of illegal substance, Bergquist said, and gang activity has led to some increases in that regard. Narcotics and, to a lesser extent, crack cocaine, represent the drugs that spur most criminal activity, he added.

But from 2009 to 2010, both years affected by a sour economy and a struggle to maintain resources in an age of tight budgets, there were no major upticks in overall crime, largely maintaining Brick's reputation as a safe community for its size.