Economic classes range from those living in multi-million dollar waterfront homes, to those dwelling in converted summer bungalows. Yet with these differences in class, the town's size and population, and the fact that it is a gateway from the Garden State Parkway to popular draws like Red Bank and Sandy Hook, there is little major crime reported. In 1996, the latest year for which figures were available, there were 107 burglaries, two rapes and 28 aggravated assaults. Middletown had 842 such cases. Middletown's 1996 major-crime rate was 14.38 offenses per 1,000 residents, making it the town with the seventh lowest crime rate in Monmouth County.
Major crimes are murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and theft.
This town ranks 169th out of 216 similar, suburban communities in the state, with one the highest and 216 the lowest, making it one of the safest areas to live in New Jersey. Suburban communities are determined not by population, but by housing density, the number of single family homes and proximity to cities. But when just looking at size, Middletown had the third lowest major-crime rate in the nation in 1996, compared with towns with populations between 50,000 and 100,000. Clay Town, N.Y., and Calabasas, Calif., are the two towns with lower major-crime rates and similar populations. Chief Police Pollinger said Middletown has been in the top 10 towns with low major-crime rates for as long as he can remember, and that it has become a source of pride for the department.