ABSECON – The White Horse Pike drives crime in this city, according to police officials. And the direction appears to be one way: up.

“In 2011, the Absecon Police Department responded to 29,598 calls for service,” Lt. David Risley said. “This was the highest call volume in the history of the police department.”

Not only are there more calls, but the number is rapidly increasing. The 2011 figure represents 6,061 more calls for service then in 2010, when police responded to 23,537 calls.

“The 29,598 calls equates to 1,235 calls per police officer this year,” Risley said.

The number of officers has risen as well – back to 25, the same as in 2006-2007.In 2008 there were 21 officers; in 2009-2010, the number was 23.

“Much of the call volume can be attributed to the economy, with more crimes against people, and thefts of property,” Risley said of what Absecon is seeing today. “There has been a rise in thefts, burglaries, frauds and robberies.”

And there doesn’t appear to be any relief in sight.

“We expect this number to grow again in 2012,” Risley said. “Absecon is consistently in the top five in violent and nonviolent crimes in Atlantic County as per the New Jersey State Police Uniform Crime Reports.”

The annual number of calls has risen consistently since 2008, going from 16,235 to 17022 in 2009 and to 23,537 in 2010. City police received 14,370 calls in 2006 – less than half the 2011 total.

Last year there were more calls in February – 2,162 – than any other month from January to May.

Risley said the number of calls can be inflated that time of year by property checks officers do for people who are out of town, but nonetheless there were a lot of car burglaries.

In June a near-constant rise began, topping off with 2,992 calls in December.

Absecon reported no homicides or rapes in 2011, according to the Uniform Crime Report.

But there was a total of 298 violent crimes, Risley said.

They included 68 assaults, 11 robberies, five burglaries, 158 thefts, six motor vehicle thefts and an arson.

Nearly a quarter million dollars in stolen property was reported, Risley said, including $40,772 in currency, $84,716 in jewelry and $37,800 in motor vehicles.

Absecon police made 514 adult and 11 juvenile arrests in 2011. Many things such as curfew violations are handled with the parents, Risley said. The number of adult arrests is always high, he said.

“We’re always high in the county,” Risley said. “That’s because of the Route 30 corridor and all the motels. We have a very high summer population with about 20 hookers and pimps living in every hotel.”

Risley said Absecon is demographically most similar to Northfield and Linwood, with the exception of the highway and motels.

“About one-third of our crime is in the hotels in the summertime,” he said, and a lot of crime in motels goes unreported.

He said Absecon sees a lot of transient domestic crime. “They’re leaving Atlantic City,” Risley said. “Then they get to the first light here, and a dispute erupts.”

Local town watch organizations are helping, he said. “We have three organized groups now,” Risley said. “They form when there are problems in the neighborhood. But once it quiets down, the groups tend to disband.”

Crime numbers can be distorted, he said, but they are consistent with each other.

Years ago, he said, you had your “usual suspects”; now the suspects could be from anywhere.

“When we first started and there was a residential burglary there were two guys who made the local circuit,” Risley said. “Now there’s many of them and they’re from all over.”

There are several factors to consider in what actions police take, he said. “Do you want us to catch the guy, or do you just want it stopped?” Risley said. “We can flood the neighborhood with officers. That will stop the crime. But we’re scaring the suspect away, too.” The crime calls will continue to grow, he said. “The numbers will be consistent,” Risley said. “There will be growth, but maybe not huge like this year. It’s been growing over the years. I see no reason it would drop off.”

Route 30 is a heavily traveled road, he said. It can bring business to Absecon, but it also brings a lot of crime. “With the economy changing, that will help,” Risley said. “Put more people back to work. When they’re working, they’re not out doing things.”