Here’s to community policing

Many of our local police officials credit community policing programs with helping bring down crime.

They also give credit to the good economy, more police officers and good old-fashioned police work.

While all areas of crime have not fallen, there are notable drops in each of the Independent towns.

Middletown has the lowest crime rate per thousand residents, 11.2, and saw its total violent and nonviolent crime index drop from 864 to 767 in 1999. The most significant drops there, as well as in some of the other towns, were in burglaries and motor vehicle thefts.

Matawan’s crime index dropped from 194 to 169, mostly because of a drop in larcenies. Aberdeen’s went from 437 to 379, with significant drops in rapes and burglaries. The first category fell from 11 to zero incidents and the second from 84 to 51.

Hazlet also had a big drop in burglaries and a drop in larcenies to bring its total crime index from 387 to 334, but aggravated assaults doubled from eight to 17.

Holmdel, whose crime rate is slightly higher than Middletown’s at 13.1 crimes per thousand residents, had a huge drop in burglaries, from 54 to 15, while the overall crime index fell from 275 to 194. Keyport also had a big drop in burglaries and car thefts, and the crime index there went from 207 to 181.

All of this bodes well for residents, and police deserve credit for jobs well done.

But there is always more to do, and now that officials know that community policing programs really work, they need to make them work even better.