January was a quiet month for local police—according to the New Jersey State Police, crime reported in January 2013 was a whopping 45.8 percent less than in January 2012.

Since Hillsborough is always a pretty safe place, even a small change can make a meaningful statistical difference. For example, consider the 22.2 percent drop in assaults reported, year over year—the difference between assaults reported is 2 (total reported in January 2012: 9; January 2013? 7).

Vehicle thefts were cut in half--from two to one, and (unfortunately) burglaries remained the same at seven reported in both years.

But the big difference this year was a drop in theft. In January 2012, Hillsborough police said 30 theft reports were received, compared to only 11 this year.

The result? A 51 percent decrease in Hillsborough's crime rate. 

Will it continue? We'll check next month, when Hillsborough By the Numbers looks again at the crime stats.