TRENTON — The State Police said today residents will now have access to weekly crime statistics online rather than waiting up to two years for the division to release its annual crime report.

“For the first time, we are able to give the public a sense of the current crime picture in their area,” State Police Superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes said in a statement. “Even as preliminary data, this will be a great new tool for the public.”

Unverified statistics will be published at least weekly, or as often as they are provided by local municipalities, at www.njsp.org/info/ucr_currentdata.html. The information will be provided in .pdf form, State Police said, but they are working on a system to let users search for specific information.

The State Police issue the most comprehensive annual report on crime in New Jersey, but by the time it comes out each year, the statistics are up to two years old. While police departments have access to more real-time data to track trends, residents until now have been in the dark.

For example, the 2011 Uniform Crime Report was not released until December last year.

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