The statewide crime statistics have been released for Monmouth County and Ocean County. In terms of violent crime, Ocean County had an approximately 8% increase in 2008 whereas Monmouth County had a decrease of a similar percentage. The offenses included in these figures were murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.  In terms of details, Aggravated Assault charges were in both Counties.

Non-violent statistics included burglary, larceny/theft, and motor vehicle theft.  Both Counties experienced a sizable increase in non-violent crime.  Larceny and theft was up in Monmouth County and Ocean County. This might be expected given the economic downturn.

Notwithstanding the statistics, I cannot say that our NJ criminal defense practice has noticed any change. The deviations appear to be very minor and do not appear to be the result of any push one way or another.