The 10 Most Stolen Things in New Jersey

Forbes recently updated their annual list of “States With the Worst Crime Rates” for 2024. Nationwide, they found some good news. The rate of violent crime is down almost two percent from the previous year.

Violent crimes include murder, nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

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Keep reading: The Million Dollar Robbery at the Ocean County Mall

The most frequent places for stolen offences are:

#1 Residence - 30.4%
#2 Parking Lots or Garages - 15.8%
#3 Highways or Roads - 9.3%
#4 Department Stores - 8.7%
#5 Grocery Stores - 5.7%

What are the top 10 things stolen in New Jersey?

#1 - Vehicle Parts and Accessories

Tires and Wheels. Tailgates. Batteries. Catalytic Converters. Airbags. These are all parts of your car that thieves in New Jersey are interested in.

#2 - Money

Money is the one thing that literally everyone in the world has a use for. Whether it’s a scammer that emptied your entire bank account after you gave them access in a phishing scam or some dumb teenager who smashed your car window because you left loose change in the cup holder when you went hiking, the thief could have any number of uses for your money.

#3 - Automobiles

A vast majority of the time it’s a stranger or someone otherwise unknown. Friends or acquaintances were responsible for just over 1,000 motor vehicle thefts. 289 people say a parent stole their car. What cars are most likely to get stolen? We’ve got the roundup for you here.

#4 - Clothes

Whether it’s shoplifting for the thrill of it, some sort of mental health condition or stealing necessities like socks and underwear from laundromats, this is rather big in New Jersey.

#5 - Tools

We’d be interested to know how many tools are stolen from private residences/property vs construction projects.

#6 - Merchandise

This is not a surprise in New Jersey.

#7 - Credit and Debit Cards

If this has ever happened to you, you know it's horrible. It happens all the time in New Jersey, please be careful.

#8 - Consumable Goods

Considering the fifth most stolen item at Walmart stores across the country is food and the most shoplifted thing in America is meat, we’re not surprised to see this on the list. In addition to food, consumable goods can also include hygiene products, medication, fuel and more.

#9 Computer Hardware and Software

Some criminals steal these items for personal use. Others want to turn around and resell the entire computer or parts of it.

#10 - Purses, Handbags or Wallets

Why take the time to dig through these items to find valuables like cash and credit cards when you can just steal the whole thing? We don’t know how criminals think, but we can only imagine this is the sort of thing that goes through their heads. I know I've left my purse behind and my wallet at the grocery store and you know that feeling, I hope someone honest found it and handed it in. That horrible feeling, we've all felt it.