But Dover police say that's just the tip of the iceberg. The crime rate rose slightly in 1997, to 43.1 major crimes per 1,000 residents, according to police counts used by the FBI in its Uniform Crime Report.
Major crimes are murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and theft.
Still, Dover's crime rate remains lower than it was in the late '80s and early '90s, according to an Asbury Park Press analysis of crime trends. There were no homicides in the township last year, and the number of rapes dropped from 19 to 12. Based on 1996 FBI crime figures for the entire state, the latest year available, the township's major crime rate ranked Dover 14th highest out of 32 Ocean County municipalities with police departments. Although the township may look more like a suburban community with its mostly single-family homes and a small downtown section, it is classified by the state Department of Community Affairs as an urban center, or city, like Newark, Camden and Trenton. Of the 28 cities in the state, Dover Township has the third lowest major crime rate per 1,000 residents.