Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY 4.0Policing Cliffwood Beach: who reports, and what
Of the graded towns, Aberdeen Township is the closest, at B. Cliffwood Beach has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Monmouth County. The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Cliffwood Beach alone, and no Safety Grade.
What stands out about safety in Cliffwood Beach
Policed by the county
Cliffwood Beach is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for Cliffwood Beach. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest New Jersey towns with their own police figures are Aberdeen Township (B, 1 mi), Keyport (B−, 1 mi), Hazlet Township (B, 3 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from Cliffwood Beach. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office reports
Reports to the FBI for the parts of Monmouth County without police of their own, which include Cliffwood Beach.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
Also reports crimes in Monmouth County to the FBI.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office
Counts, not rates: the FBI doesn’t publish how many people each agency covers. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Tables 10–11.
Crimes reported to the FBI for the whole area the department covers, by year.
The nearest New Jersey towns with a Safety Grade
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen Township | B | 1 mi | 1.5 | 7.6 |
| Keyport | B− | 1 mi | 1.4 | 13.6 |
| Hazlet Township | B | 3 mi | 0.9 | 11.1 |
| South Amboy | B− | 4 mi | 1.5 | 11.7 |
| Holmdel Township | A− | 5 mi | 0.3 | 6.8 |
| Perth Amboy | C | 6 mi | 3.4 | 12.7 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Cliffwood Beach. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Cliffwood Beach.
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Three people died in crashes on Cliffwood Beach’s roads in 2019–2023
Cliffwood Beach had 3 fatal crashes in five years, in which three people died; 2 were pedestrians.
That is about what is typical for New Jersey towns of 2,500–5,000 people: at their median rate (4.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Cliffwood Beach’s size would see about 1 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Cliffwood Beach’s own rate (19.6) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Cliffwood Beach and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen Township | B | 1.5 | 7.6 |
| Old Bridge Township | — | — | — |
| Keyport | B− | 1.4 | 13.6 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Old Bridge Township reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2024 but not 2025.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- A county agency covers a wide area. Its totals mix many communities, so they say little about any one of them.
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Cliffwood Beach
Is Cliffwood Beach, NJ safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Cliffwood Beach. The nearest New Jersey towns with a grade are Aberdeen Township (B, 1 mi), Keyport (B−, 1 mi), Hazlet Township (B, 3 mi).
Who polices Cliffwood Beach?
The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office. Cliffwood Beach is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Monmouth County without police of their own.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Cliffwood Beach.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.