She also told Camden police of five beatings.

The Camden police, the Camden County prosecutor's office and the F.B.I. created a special unit to find out what was behind the killings.

The city recorded 60 homicides in 1995 and seems likely to have about half that many this year, the Camden police said yesterday.

Three minutes later, Mr. Bonnette said, the Camden police reported a bomb threat against the motor vehicle office.

It seems that Mr. Vinis had apparently not been notified by the Camden police that they had recovered his car.

Camden police indicated that she had made over 20 calls to the police in three and a half years.

No one was seriously injured in the blaze, which may have been deliberately set, said Lieut. Joseph Richardson of the Camden police.

The time of death could turn into a troublesome issue for the Camden police, because more and more people are blaming them for failing to find the children.

The homicide rate has dropped this year and arrests have increased since the state troopers arrived, the Camden police say.

"This city would collapse without it," said Lt. Frank Cook of the Camden police.