City dwellers often feel crime in their town has increased over the years, but upon closer examination that does not always seems to be the case, Paterson is an obvious example.

In downtown Paterson, if one is to stop and speak to a few of the locals that have lived in the city for years, one topic is almost certain to come up: crime, and how it has exploded in recent years, as if the previous years were crime free. Some will say, “Crime is out of control, and the police do nothing.” Is crime really out of control?

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The data above collected from reports issued yearly by the State Police show that violent crime has been stable throughout the decade save spikes in 2005 when aggravated assaults skyrocketed and 2006 when robbery increased just as much, and subsequently both trend continued more or less the same with dips here and there up to 2011.

2004 was the most peaceful year with the lowest number of violent incidents; 2010 was the worst year with the largest number of murders; 2010 saw the largest number of rapes and it shows little sign of improvement.

So how violent is Paterson? Not as much as residents of the city would say. Crime rates are stable as it seems from the chart with minor occasional fluctuations.