An Open Public Record Act request to The Essex County Prosecutor's Office for a list of homicide investigations for all municipalities in the county for the 2017 and 2018 years was successfully delivered.
Swift response by University Hospital EMS and other ambulatory transportation care companies in the region, advanced medical treatment for trauma/gunshot victims by University Hospital and hospitals around Essex County along with urgent care/rehabilitation treatment by Kessler Rehabilitation Center in West Orange are among several factors credited with a noticeable drop in fatalities that are classified as homicides for those that received gunshot wounds or who were victims of violent bodily injuries around Essex County in 2018.
Police departments in the county have also noted that stepped up patrols in areas known to have shootings or violent crime should be noted for the decline in potential victims with the arrests of shooting suspects and removal of their weapons.
Our staff redacted the numerical addresses to respect the privacy of the victim's families.
RLS Media would like to thank our legal representative CJ Griffin, Esq of Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C. of Hackensack NJ.
Our staff would also like to thank the 'dedicated to transparency' men and women of The Essex County Prosecutor's Office for their continued assistance in keeping the public informed.
According to the OPRA report, the numbers confirm a drop in homicides in Newark and other municipalities in the county.
**2017**
Newark-82
East Orange 10
Caldwell-1
Bloomfield-1
Orange-4
Belleville-1
Montclair-0
West Orange-0
Maplewood-4
**2018**
Newark-79
East Orange-6
Caldwell-0
Bloomfield-1
Orange-5
Belleville-0
Montclair-3
W. Orange-1
Maplewood-1
**NOTE:** According to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, a 41-year-old man found shot on September 10, 2016, in the 400 block of South 10th Street was ruled a homicide in 2018. This addition changed the count from 78 to 79 in Newark.
Click **[HERE](https://drive.google.com/file/d/19kG7czEkx5MRg0DpRjFti-A_9VbQ8YG1/view?usp=sharing)** for the itemized list of homicide for 2017-2018 in Essex County.