Crime in Scotch Plains, New Jersey
Updated ·Vorp Labs
The model puts major crime in Scotch Plains at 73% below the U.S. rate per resident: 87% lower for persons crimes and 70% lower for property crimes. Expected major crimes are down 8.1% from a year earlier.
- Modeled from FBI crime data for the police agencies serving Scotch Plains. Where an agency didn't report to the FBI, its totals are estimated from its past reports or similar agencies.
- The model estimates about 4.7 major crimes per 1,000 residents a year (0.4 violent, 4.3 property), against 17.2 for the U.S.
- By the model's major-crime rate per resident, Scotch Plains is lower than 86% of the 364 other New Jersey places and 88% of the 8,446 other places nationwide on CrimeMetric.
Where these numbers come from
The estimates start from what police agencies report to the FBI, modeled across Scotch Plains's 17 census block groups for 25,770 residents. How New Jersey residents' crime totals reach the FBI: detailed incident reports for 79.1%, summary counts only for 14.7% and estimates from past reports or similar agencies for 6.2% (shares of 2020 residents). Sources · Method
- Year: many show an agency's last full FBI year (often two years back). These figures are the model's estimate for the current year, release 2026-11-10.
- Crimes counted: some add simple assault, vandalism or drug offenses to "violent" or "property" crime; here major crime is persons plus property crime, and social disorder is separate.
- Area: an agency's totals cover its jurisdiction, which can differ from the city's limits; these are summed over the block groups inside Scotch Plains.
- Scale: a grade or a 1-to-100 score ranks places against each other; a rate per 1,000 residents and an index against the U.S. rate don't.
Rates are the model's estimates of reported crime per 1,000 residents a year. Index: 100 is the U.S. rate per resident; 200 is twice it. How we calculated this
How crime varies across Scotch Plains
Half of residents live where the major-crime index is between 18 and 30.
- 0–5092.9%
- 50–1007.1%
- 100–2000.0%
- 200–4000.0%
- 400+0.0%
Check an address in Scotch Plains
Every crime type in Scotch Plains is near or below the U.S. rate
Citywide indexWhere the middle half of residents live
Property crimes
Social disorder
Highest on weekday daytimes
100 is the U.S. rate, same hours.
Expected major crime fell 8.1% in a year; across New Jersey it fell 10.2%
Change in the model's expected crimes, not a count of reports; New Jersey in gray. 2031 is a model projection, not tested against past years.
Scotch Plains against U.S. places with 25,000 to 50,000 residents
1,032 of the 1,120 other places of this size have a major-crime index at least 15% above Scotch Plains's, and 63 are within 15% of it; the middle of the group is 73. The 9 nearest in population:
U.S. = 100. Residents in gray.
Scotch Plains has a lower major-crime index than all of its 8 nearest neighbors
The closest, Plainfield (3 mi), is 3.0 times Scotch Plains's rate.
U.S. = 100. Miles between population centers.
Questions about crime in Scotch Plains
Is Scotch Plains safe?
Scotch Plains's major-crime index is 27, 73% below the U.S. rate per resident and lower than 86% of the 364 other New Jersey places on CrimeMetric: violent crimes against people are 87% below the U.S. rate, and property crimes 70% below the U.S. rate.
What is the crime rate in Scotch Plains?
The model expects about 121 major crimes a year in Scotch Plains, about 4.7 per 1,000 residents, 73% below the U.S. rate.
Is crime going up or down in Scotch Plains?
Expected major crimes in Scotch Plains are down 8.1% from a year earlier; across New Jersey they're down 10.2%.
What are the most common crimes in Scotch Plains?
By the model's expected count, the most common crimes against people and property are other larceny (about 42 a year), theft from vehicle (about 23 a year) and motor vehicle theft (about 20 a year).
Are car break-ins common in Scotch Plains?
The model expects about 23 thefts from vehicles a year in Scotch Plains, 66% below the U.S. rate per resident.
Are car thefts common in Scotch Plains?
The model expects about 20 motor vehicle thefts a year in Scotch Plains, 51% below the U.S. rate per resident.
Is Scotch Plains safe at night?
The model's major-crime index is 20 on Sunday to Thursday nights from 6pm to 6am, against 36 at its highest in the daytime; 100 is the U.S. rate for the same hours. That's a citywide estimate per resident for those hours: it can't speak to a particular street, venue or evening. For one address, use the address lookup on this page.
Is crime in Scotch Plains higher than the New Jersey average?
Scotch Plains's major-crime index is 27, 65% below the New Jersey rate per resident. New Jersey as a whole is 78, where 100 is the U.S. rate.
How does crime in Scotch Plains compare with Plainfield?
Plainfield, 3 miles away, has a major-crime index of 81, 3.0 times Scotch Plains's rate per resident. Scotch Plains's is 27.
How we calculated this
Each police agency's crimes, as reported to the FBI or estimated where it didn't report, are spread across the census block groups it serves using population, jobs, points of interest and, where available, local incident records. Scotch Plains's figures add up its 17 block groups. The index compares crimes per resident with the U.S. rate.
- Scotch Plains has no published incident records in our data, so its estimate relies on agency totals and neighborhood characteristics.
- Rates are per resident, so places where many people work or visit but few live, such as downtowns, airports and stadiums, can read high.
- Disorderly conduct and trespassing are modeled, because the FBI records them only through arrests.
- Residents: 25,770. Model updated Nov 10, 2026. Release 2026-11-10
Full method and validation·Data sources
CrimeMetric. "Crime in Scotch Plains, New Jersey." Vorp Labs, updated November 9, 2026 (model Nov 10, 2026). https://crimemetric.com/nj/scotch-plains
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Major-crime index, U.S. = 100
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