I have a good friend who is Swedish. They flew into Newark once and got lost in their rental car.
To this day, ten years later, the older son still uses it as his barometer of just how bad it can get somewhere.
In my experience, Newark is downright civilized compared to Camden.
People are desensitized by movies.
In addition to college, I worked there both as a professional and as a delivery truck driver; I have family / ancestors there... and all over north Jersey. My dad moved out as a kid just before WWII.
Of course, it also has “fancy” sections where the local leaders/etc., live, which has been the same since the 1800s.
I had a clip of an 1800s news article where a gentlemen fended off a would-be attacker with his pistol; no arrest, no front page news about guns, etc., just a little blip story noting that it happened.