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An analysis done to address complaints about a spate in gunfire was completed this week by the city.

Manager Michael Capabianco said a police statistician worked for the past few weeks to aggregate the incident reports in order to determine whether gunfire is on the rise.

The result: 23 shots were fired this year versus 11 incidents reported during the same time frame last year; many of them concentrated in the southwest neighborhood.

Capabianco also said nine victims sustained injuries due to gunfire as opposed to four reported cases during the same time frame last year.

“We’ve been monitoring the situation and are deploying our resources effectively,” Capabianco said. “We do know that this started last September with a penultimate of incidents occurring in March.”

The issue was raised publicly by Lori Ross, president of the West Side Community Center on DeWitt Avenue, who asked for the crime data report during recent City Council meetings.

“It’s not just about the shootings,” Ross said. “It’s really trying to figure out what is the city strategy, how we can participate in that and how we can get messaging out to the community and protect ourselves because it is in fact a war zone out there.”

Ross said her concern is for the children in the area who may become innocent victims of the recent spate in gunfire crime.

Deputy Police Chief David Kelso said he would not classify the neighborhood as a war zone and that in fact the increase was due to a small group of known gang members who range from the juvenile age bracket to young adults.  

“It is a small amount of people that are believed to be very young,” he said. “There was an increase in September and October of 2016 and then it spiked again in April. We made a number of arrests and the numbers have gone down. There at 10 to 12 incidents between Elizabeth and Ridge avenues that are believed to be the same people shooting at one another. It was at its heaviest in March and April.”

The city’s Street Crimes Unit and Detective Bureau investigations have led to 18 handguns and one sub machine gun recovered off the street since January, Kelso said. A total of 24 arrests were made in connection to the incidents, with charges that include unlawful possession of a weapon, aggravated assault and attempted murder.

“Since mid June, we’ve been doing a lot better,” Kelso said. “ We’ve assigned additional officers to the area and the Street Crimes Unit is working in the zone daily.”

Kelso further said a number of the school resource officers have been assigned to the department’s bicycle patrol unit that patrols the area during the summer recess. Others are helping to administer the department’s summer camp for kids ages 10 to 14. The department runs a number of youth and community programs to help the youngest residents stay from a life of crime [shown in photos]. 

The department also hopes to hire a number of new officers in time for the July 31 training cycle in order to increase its walking patrols and special units, he said.

“We have Class II officers that are only assigned to patrol units or walking details in 2 south zone [southwest neighborhood],” Kelso said.

The police department’s Springwood Avenue substation serves not only as a hub for local law enforcement but for other agencies, including State Police, U.S. Marshals, FBI, DEA, Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, and Sheriff’s Department patrols, Kelso said.

According to a State Police Uniform Crime Report [UCR] obtained by the Asbury Park Sun in April murder rates dropped from 7 in 2013 to 2 cases in 2016. Violent crime also fell from 265 in 2013 to 223 in 2016. The same report showed only two cases of gunfire reported in January and February.

According to Capabianco’s 2016 report, the highest incidents of gunfire occurred in November with six reported incidents. February and July shows 4 incidents each; followed by October and December at 3 cases each; January, March, May, and August with two reported cases; and on incident in April. No gunfire was reported in June and September.

This year the report shows March and April each accrued seven reported gunfire incidents; five cases in May; two in February; and one in January and June. 

The gunfire incidents are located throughout the southern area of the city, with the majority of reported cases occurring within the southwest quadrant. There were 7 reported incidents within the blocks surrounding the West Side Community Center. Two incidents occurred on DeWitt with one case resulting in a report of a gunshot victim.

This year there are nine reported gunfire victims versus last year’s 13 known victims in 2016.

Kelso said although the city’s special units and detectives have identified the suspects, the public’s help is need to bring a prosecution into fruition.

“We implore witnesses to come out to verify our leads,” Kelso said.

The Asbury Park Police Department is located at 1 Municipal Plaza. Its non emergency number is (732) 774-1300.

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