Safety in Franklin Center: figures, but no grade
Franklin Center has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Somerset County. The Somerset 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 Franklin Center alone, and no Safety Grade. Middlesex, 4 miles away, is the nearest town with a Safety Grade (A). There are 14 graded towns within 10 miles.
What stands out about safety in Franklin Center
Policed by the county
Franklin Center is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for Franklin Center. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest New Jersey towns with their own police figures are Middlesex (A, 4 mi), Franklin Township (B+, 4 mi), Green Brook Township (A−, 6 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from Franklin Center. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office reports
Reports to the FBI for the parts of Somerset County without police of their own, which include Franklin Center.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
Also reports crimes in Somerset County to the FBI.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Somerset 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middlesex | A | 4 mi | 0.3 | 5.3 |
| Franklin Township | B+ | 4 mi | 0.7 | 9.2 |
| Green Brook Township | A− | 6 mi | 0.6 | 6.2 |
| New Brunswick | D | 6 mi | 6.7 | 23.9 |
| Highland Park | B | 6 mi | 1.1 | 11.0 |
| North Brunswick Township | B− | 6 mi | 1.6 | 14.4 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Franklin Center. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Franklin Center.
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
One person died in crashes on Franklin Center’s roads in 2019–2023
Franklin Center had 1 fatal crash in five years, in which one person died.
That is about what is typical for New Jersey towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (4.5 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Franklin Center’s size would see about 1 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Franklin Center’s own rate (3.0) 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.
Franklin Center and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | B+ | 0.7 | 9.2 |
| Bridgewater Township | — | — | — |
| Piscataway Township | — | — | — |
| South Bound Brook | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Bridgewater Township reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. Piscataway Township reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2024 but not 2025. South Bound Brook reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2025 but not 2024.
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 Franklin Center
Is Franklin Center, NJ safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Franklin Center. The nearest New Jersey towns with a grade are Middlesex (A, 4 mi), Franklin Township (B+, 4 mi), Green Brook Township (A−, 6 mi).
Who polices Franklin Center?
The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office. Franklin Center is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Somerset 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 Franklin Center.
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.