Brick places among the safest cities in U.S.

BY JENNIFER DOME
Staff Writer

That’s three years running.For the third year in a row, Brick Township has been named the second-safest city in America among cities of its size, according to publishing and research company Morgan Quitno Press, Lawrence, Kan.

“For the third year in a row, Brick is the second-safest city in the United Sates and the safest in New Jersey. It’s quite an accomplishment, and a credit to the [police] department chief, patrol officers, and residents and taxpayers that support the police department,” Mayor Joseph C. Scarpelli said at the Township Council’s Nov. 23 caucus meeting.

In Morgan Quitno’s “City Crime Rankings 11th Edition,” an annual reference book of crime statistics, Brick placed second overall, behind Newton, Mass. Dover Township was named the 10th safest city in America, Hamilton Township came in 15th and Camden was deemed the most dangerous.

“I think it speaks well of the population in the township,” township Police Chief Ronald J. Dougard said last week. “I’m pleased with the results. I’d rather have my results than Camden’s.”

The Morgan Quitno rankings are based on crime data reported by the FBI in six major categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft.

Final 2003 statistics, which were released by the FBI in October, were used to determine the rankings, according to Morgan Quitno’s Web site. All cities with a population of 75,000 or more that reported statistics to the FBI were included in the rankings.

This was Brick’s sixth consecutive ranking in the top five overall safest cities in the nation, and its third consecutive ranking as second place. While Brick placed first last year among cities in its bracket, with populations between 75,000 and 99,999 residents, this year’s first place went to Newton, Mass.

“We’re very happy and we’re very proud of the fact that we’re the second-safest town in the nation,” said Township police Lt. Douglas Kinney, of the Community Policing Unit.

Both Dougard and Kinney credited the mayor, the Township Council and the community as a whole for their support of the police department. Kinney said it is through programs that the mayor and council have supported that the residents have gained a strong sense of community, which “makes our job that much easier.”

He added that he is pleased with Brick’s consistency in the rankings.

“We think it shows some stability in our community,” Kinney said.

— Danielle Medina contributed to this story