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Audit Finds 3,251 JC Crimes Not Properly Reported to State From 2021-2024
Jersey City Mayor James Solomon released findings Tuesday from an internal audit of Jersey City Police Department crime data reporting that found at least 3,251 criminal cases between 2021 and 2024 were not properly entered into the National Incident-Based Reporting System.
The audit, conducted under the direction of Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose, examined reporting practices under the previous administration of former Mayor Steven Fulop. NIBRS is the FBI’s standardized database used by law enforcement to track crime statistics nationally.
According to the administration, major crimes such as homicide were reported accurately throughout the period. The audit attributed the reporting gaps to fragmented workflows, inconsistent tracking, inaccurate incident coding, and failures to update classifications when supplemental reports changed the facts of a case.
“Transparency is only meaningful if the data behind it is trustworthy,” Solomon said. “Jersey City residents deserve accurate information, and we’re committed to fixing and building systems that deliver it.”
The administration said pre-2025 crime figures should not be used as a benchmark for evaluating future crime trends, and that 2025 data will be used as a baseline going forward.
To address the deficiencies, Ambrose invited the New Jersey State Police to conduct an on-site review. The department is now assigning additional personnel to NIBRS functions, providing refresher training, evaluating upgrades to its dispatch and records systems, and strengthening supervisory review.
“What matters now is that we’ve identified the problems, we’ve brought in experts to help us fix them, and we’re putting the right systems and staffing in place to get this right going forward,” Ambrose said.
The audit is part of the Solomon administration’s broader JC IMPACT initiative. A public dashboard displaying crime and safety metrics is expected to launch in the coming weeks.
