Governor Murphy, Lt. Governor Way, Attorney General Matt Platkin, First Assistant Attorney General Lyndsay Ruotolo, and NJSP Colonel Callahan Announce Historic Low in Gun Violence

 Fewest Shooting Victims Recorded For Second Straight Year Since Tracking Began in 2009

11% Decrease in Auto Thefts

EAST RUTHERFORD — Governor Phil Murphy, Lt. Governor Tahesha Way, Attorney General Matt Platkin, First Assistant Attorney General Lyndsay Ruotolo, and New Jersey State Police (NJSP) Superintendent Colonel Patrick J. Callahan today announced major reductions in the number of shooting victims and auto thefts in New Jersey in 2024.

In 2024, 778 victims suffered gunshot injuries in New Jersey, a drop of 16 percent from 2023, when a then-record low of 924 shooting victims marked the first time that fewer than 1,000 gun violence victims were recorded since tracking began in 2009. Of the total victims shot in 2024, there were 152 fatalities, a reduction of 20 percent from 2023.

Violent crimes, including shootings, many times stem from auto thefts. In 2024, the total number of stolen motor vehicles decreased by 11 percent from 2023, going from 16,694 down to 14,755 statewide, according to the NJSP’s Regional Operations Intelligence Center.

“Today’s announcement marks a major milestone in our Administration’s commitment to reduce gun violence and theft,” said Governor Murphy. “The meticulous coordination of Attorney General Platkin, Colonel Callahan, our legislative partners, and our local law enforcement officers has played a tremendous role in achieving historically low shootings for a second consecutive year. Together, we are determined to continue combatting violence and crime as we build a safer, stronger New Jersey for all.”

“Every New Jerseyan shares the desire to live in a safe community,” said Lieutenant Governor Tahesha Way. “The reduction in crime that we continue to see is a testament to the collaboration, innovation, and unwavering dedication of law enforcement across our state, made possible through the leadership of Attorney General Platkin and Colonel Callahan. Together, we have made meaningful progress and will continue to make protecting New Jerseyans our top priority.”

“Our collaborative efforts are yielding demonstrable, positive results in the kinds of quality-of-life issues that affect New Jerseyans,” Attorney General Platkin said. “Through our innovative approaches to public safety that include community-based violence intervention programs, we are making strides against the scourge of gun violence, but the work goes on, notably with our groundbreaking lawsuits against gun manufacturers and the implementation of the ARRIVE Together initiative. And auto thefts are at the lowest level we’ve seen in three years. These trends are encouraging, but we must continue our work to keep the public safe.”

“Through the unwavering collaboration among law enforcement agencies, driven by cutting-edge technology and intelligence-led policing, we are delivering real results in making New Jersey safer,” Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said. “While the progress is clear, our commitment to driving crime rates even lower remains resolute. Together, we will continue to work tirelessly to protect our communities and uphold the safety and security that every resident deserves.”

“Bergen County is proud to be recognized as the 9th safest county in the United States, a testament to the hard work and dedication of our law enforcement agencies, first responders, and community partners,” said Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco. “Thanks to Governor Murphy’s leadership and commitment to public safety, New Jersey continues to prioritize the safety of its residents. With the FIFA World Cup Final coming to East Rutherford in 2026, these collaborative efforts will ensure our communities remain safe and welcoming for the thousands of expected visitors and everyone who calls New Jersey home.”

The NJSP has been increasingly using technology to guide its decision making on how to most effectively support local, state, and federal partner agencies in reducing the number of shooting incidents and victims. That approach involves the Attorney General’s Gun Violence Reduction Task Force (GVRTF), a statewide intelligence-sharing network across New Jersey’s 21 counties, which facilitates collaboration among law enforcement and prosecutors from all levels of government. The GVRTF strategically focuses law enforcement resources on drivers of violence in New Jersey.

That targeted and technologically assisted deployment of resources combined with community engagement and law enforcement partnerships kept the number of New Jersey shooting victims at 778 in 2024. In 2023, the 924 victims shot represented a 13 percent decrease over 2022, which built upon the 25 percent decrease from 2021.

Under Governor Murphy, New Jersey has enacted tough anti-ghost gun and large capacity magazine laws, while the state’s strict liability law holds gun traffickers criminally liable when their weapons are used in violence. Last month, Attorney General Platkin announced that his Statewide Affirmative Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Office filed a lawsuit against Glock Inc. and Glock Ges.m.b.H. seeking relief for multiple violations of the state’s firearms industry public safety laws through the knowing manufacture, sale, and distribution of its namesake pistols, which can easily be configured to fire automatically as illegal machine guns, using an inexpensive device commonly known as a “Glock switch.” The filing came on the same day that New Jersey announced the formation of a 16-state coalition to hold irresponsible firearms industry members accountable for their devastating impact on gun violence. As part of that effort, Minnesota also filed suit against Glock. Established by Attorney General Platkin in 2022, the SAFE Office seeks to hold irresponsible members of the gun industry accountable through civil lawsuits when their weapons are used to perpetrate criminal activity.

The Auto Theft Task Force (ATTF) led by the New Jersey Division of State Police (NJSP) was formed to address the serious spike in auto thefts. The task force works both to recover individual stolen vehicles as well as to pursue long-term investigations into car theft organizations. In addition to members of the State Police, the task force is comprised of officers from various county, state, and municipal law enforcement agencies. The task force recovered dozens of stolen vehicles with a value, in total, of millions of dollars. The task force has played a key role in prosecuting offenders to deter auto theft and secure recoveries for vehicle owners.

Governor Murphy and the Legislature, with the support of the Attorney General’s Office, enacted legislation in July 2023 that has strengthened the criminal penalties for auto theft offenders, particularly for persistent, repeat offenders and large-scale automobile trafficking networks. The State works with law enforcement partners at every level to raise awareness of the new statutes and to utilize them in investigations and prosecutions statewide.

The State’s innovative approaches to public safety have become national models. The Alternative Responses to Reduce Instances of Violence and Escalation (ARRIVE) Together program – designed to improve outcomes when law enforcement responds with a mental health component – has expanded to all 21 counties, resulting in approximately 6,000 cases since its December 2021 inception in Cumberland County. The Community Based Violence Intervention (CBVI) program, overseen by the Division of Violence Intervention and Victim Assistance (VIVA), has made a meaningful impact on communities vulnerable to violence by supporting organizations with established credibility within the communities. Over the first three quarters of 2024, CBVI programming reached more than 16,000 community members through strategic partnerships with schools, community events, group and one-on-one programs, and responses to violent incidents.

To date, the Murphy Administration has invested more than $55 million in CBVI programs and more than $32 million to ARRIVE