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Read Eric Scott Campbell's complete report on the dramatic drop in Atlantic City's crime rate in Sunday's print edition of The Press of Atlantic City.

Although many visitors continue to believe Atlantic City has a high crime rate, statistics tell quite a different story.

The crime rate has fallen steadily since a peak in the 1980s and is back to a level from the pre-casino era.

Violent crimes rose 27 percent in the United States from 1978 to 2008, but rose only 4 percent here, even as the visitor population in the resort soared with the arrival of casino gaming.

Thefts dropped 4 percent nationwide in the same period. In Atlantic City, they fell 43 percent.

"I don't think the public perception is in line with the statistics," Police Chief John Mooney said.

"Not at all, and it's very frustrating," said state Sen. Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic, the city's mayor from 1990 to 2001.

The Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority conducted focus groups in New York, Boston and Cincinnati a few years ago, Executive Director Jeff Vasser said, and the results were less than desirable.

"The perception was that there's nothing else to do in the city but gamble, the city is dirty and the city has a high crime rate," Vasser said. "Our job is to get the word out that Atlantic City is not the city of 20 years ago. There are people walking around with 20-year-old perceptions."

Read Eric Scott Campbell's complete report in Sunday's edition of The Press of Atlantic City.

 

 

4 comments:

• beachone (79) posts 6:17 pm

  The problem that AC has is that you are mixing in potentially thousands of visitors with a city that can be classified as a resort. Take Wildwood NJ for instance I will honestly say I dont feel safe in parts of that town 1 to 2 blocks off the boardwalk. I have been suggesting this idea for years now and that is for AC to look at what Fort Lauderdale, Daytona etc did to fix their image when it fell into the gutter in the late 1980' and throughout the 1990's. They basically said to the locals if you want people to come to the area for vacation and who bring along their dollars you will 1. fix up all buildings to the code, which we set and that also includes no cheap housing or sleez motels 2. loitering will not be tolerated along all designated tourist areas and that includes panhandling 3. all benches, rest areas etc are for the tourist and not to be used for sleeeping, showering or bathing 4. higher designated police just for the tourist areas who become familiar with each part of their assigned area. That part of Florida has public safety officers who do not carry guns but can enforce all laws related to the tourist areas. AC's image from afar before crossing the bay is stunning but when you get onto Atlantic or Pacific Blvds. the place becomes too urban for what you want to see for a "Resort" area. b1

• roller137 (269) posts 4:23 pm

  Perception is 99% of the battle. Abandoned and boarded up properties, Derelicts drinking in public (Browns Park), and poorly maintained city streets and business district's. If the city regularly cleaned those messes up as well as they do the job on the beach, it would look like Disneyland here. Drugs, Hookers, and thieves are a fact of life. But its not just up to the Police to clean up this towns appearance. Its up to City Government, The casino's, and the Community also.

• BernieSchwartz (645) posts 4:00 pm

  ...the city is dirty and has a high crime rate.....well it is dirty, we can all see that, why not try and change that perception by actually cleaning? How hard is that? Grab a broom and a shovel and a bulldozer and go at it. You can raise my taxes to do it!

• executioner1 (307) posts 3:27 pm

  Walk the city streets from Albany to Caspian and all along Baltic Ave. after dark and see how long you will last. A teenager was attacked on his way to school yesterday in broad daylight. Stop hanging out at Dunkin Donuts and do your Police Chief.

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