Plainfield, NJ crime & safety
Plainfield's reported crime rate is above New Jersey's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 230 violent crimes were reported in 2024.
Crime reported to police, trends and how Plainfield compares with the towns next door, from FBI data.
Not graded yet
A grade needs all of the FBI's latest years (2023–2025). Plainfield's police department reported only 2023 and 2024, so we don't grade it yet. The figures below are still real.
Plainfield at a glance
Reported crime per 1,000 residents, 2022–2024
Show as a table
| Year | Plainfield property | New Jersey property | Plainfield violent | New Jersey violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 4.5 | 2.2 |
| 2023 | 16.7 | 15.5 | 5.3 | 2.3 |
| 2024 | 16.1 | 14.3 | 4.1 | 2.2 |
2024, by type
Offenses reported to police, not convictions.
Local public safety
Plainfield and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainfield | — | 4.1 | 16.1 | 2024 |
| North Plainfield | B- | 1.3 | 12.1 | 2025 |
| Watchung | C- | 0.6 | 36.8 | 2025 |
| Scotch Plains | A | 0.3 | 4.4 | 2025 |
| Green Brook | A- | 1.1 | 5.2 | 2025 |
| Dunellen | — | 0.8 | 5.9 | 2025 |
What this data can and can't tell you
- It's reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many thefts and some assaults are never reported.
- Small numbers swing. In a town of about 56,000, a handful of incidents moves the rate noticeably from year to year. The trend matters more than any one year.
- Visitors count too. Towns with a campus, highway, beach or shopping center see incidents involving people who don't live there, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn't report a full year, not that nothing happened.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2024, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. This isn't an official statement of public safety — in an emergency, call 911.