Ever wonder what ordinary citizens can do to safely fight crime where they live – that is, without assuming a vigilante alias? Weehawken has the answer for its residents who are concerned about local criminal activity.
The town is initiating a proactive community program to help prevent crime in its neighborhoods and increase public awareness of local problematic trends.
With education, alertness, and guidance, average people can help greatly diminish certain common crimes, such as GPS (Global Positioning Systems used for vehicle navigation) thefts that have swept the area recently, and are on the rise across the nation.
Mayor Richard Turner commended the police on the job they have done keeping the overall low crime rate down, and he said of the new program, “This is part of our daily review of crime statistics. At the police department, we monitor very closely, and all these things coming together now are parts of many months of effort.”
Mayor Richard Turner commended the police on the job they have done keeping the overall low crime rate down, and he said of the new program, “This is part of our daily review of crime statistics. At the police department, we monitor very closely, and all these things coming together now are parts of many months of effort.”
“The upsurge in August is on larcenies, car break-ins,” explained Turner. “This is to deal with making the low crime rate even lower, and to deal with surges [in particular types of crime].”
Taking a bite out of a crime spree
The security campaign run throughout New York City and mass transit encouraging citizens who see something to say something isn’t just for terrorist activity; it’s a reminder that keeping a vigilant eye is key to crime prevention.
In Weehawken, the most recent evidence that this eagle-eye era maxim should be put to good use is the recent rash of car break-ins last month.
During August, the town saw a spike with a total of 31 reports for this type of crime, which is about three times the normal number, according to Weehawken Deputy Police Chief Jeff Fulcher. After two residents witnessed a man leaving the scene of one of these break-ins, police were able to release a description, and Union City police contacted Weehawken’s police department, noting that they had arrested someone with the same method of operation who matched that description.
“Witnesses were the key to this case,” Fulcher observed.
Victor Carballo, 18, of Union City, was arrested and charged with seven car burglaries and thefts, including GPS and iPods, explained Fulcher. He has a criminal background, and thanks to the witnesses who gave a description for the police to go on, they were able to make this arrest two weeks ago, and while Carballo is the only one being charged right now, several others are under investigation.
“Since then, our crime rate regarding cars has dropped tremendously, and that says a lot that we got the right guy.” Fulcher explained, adding that this arrest accounted for at least seven of the 31 break-ins in August, and they suspect more are tied to this crime.
The deputy chief further explained that this was a very unusual outbreak of crime related to cars, and that GPS devices were at the core of the incidents “quite a lot” of the time.
Leaving GPS devices and other valuable items or their accessories in a car creates what Fulcher called, “a crime of opportunity.” In this case, police believe the suspect rode around on his bicycle, peering into cars, and when he saw something of value, he allegedly broke into the car and stole it.
Community-Police Partnership
Last Thursday, Sept. 11, the Town of Weehawken announced the formation of the Community-Police Partnership program, a multi-faceted approach to advance proactive watch over the community and educate the public about what individuals can do to prevent crime.
Public Safety Director Jeff Welz said, “The purpose is to get the community involved in crime awareness, crime prevention, and to have people be aware of what they have to look for and what they have to do.”
Initially, the program will focus on educating a large amount of people, such as crossing guards, park security, civilian personnel, parking authority personnel, and municipal employees.
“They all live in the community, so by educating them on what to look out for and what not to do, they can be watching as they traverse the town either on-duty or off-duty.”
Welz encourages civilians to “Report unusual and suspicious activity,” which is the core of the next phase of the program, addressing the community, groups within the community, and senior groups, among others to better educate them what to look for and what they can do to prevent crime.
Regarding crimes of opportunity, Fulcher specified that not only should valuable electronic devices be hidden from view, but their charging cords and accessories should not be left visible either, as thieves assume the device is in the car and will break in to search for it.
Don’t leave screens open on first floor windows or leave valuables in the front seat of a car.
“A lot of people are very complacent and don’t lock their doors,” Fulcher said, “and we’re happy that [they feel so safe that] they’re comfortable, but they need to take precautions.”
Fulcher mentioned that there is reason to feel safer than 20 years ago because there has been a downward trend of overall crime over the last two decades. “Since 1991, our violent crime is down 76 percent with 1104 total crimes, and overall crime is down about 70 percent with a total of 335 crimes in 2007.” He added that there have been no home invasions reported in more than three years, and the residential burglary rate is very stable.
“In addition to the educational process, we’ve installed cameras on Pershing Road,” said Welz, explaining that the cameras started operating last week on this street, which was chosen because it was isolated with few residential properties. Cameras will be up and running on Hackensack Plank Road within the next month and a half. “They’ve been areas where we’ve had a series of car break-ins, so we feel this will greatly augment policing, and those camera feeds are beamed right into police headquarters.”
“The other leg of this is the town has started an electronic newsletter,” said Welz. “The mayor and council have just authorized it, and we’re going to use that to provide crime prevention tips, and there are seasonal crime prevention tips, [such as] for Christmas, identity theft, credit card fraud … So, we’ll be using the newsletter to provide crime prevention updates.”
This program runs across Weehawken’s population, from uniformed cops to employees to the general public.
Though Welz said the town has been very successful controlling its crime rate, “August’s spike in car crime is why we’re moving very proactively, because we weren’t satisfied with those numbers, and we wanted to get that under control immediately. [And] we realized we needed to get the community more involved in this.”
The town will send out a mailing, and there will be an opportunity to sign up for the e-newsletter and the programs at the upcoming Weehawken Day on Sept. 27 (rain date Sept. 28) at Lincoln Harbor Park.
Meanwhile, Fulcher wants the citizens to know that they always welcome calls from people concerned about something suspicious, even if they think it’s probably nothing, because it’s better to call just in case it does turn out to be suspicious activity after all.
“We love to get phone calls,” emphasizes the deputy chief. “Even if it turns out to be nothing, we’ll be glad to tell you this.”
Public Safety Director Welz adds, “They can remain anonymous. We ask for names only if the police need more information when they arrive, but that’s not mandatory. They don’t have to give their names. We want them to call.” For more information or to report something, call Deputy Chief Fulcher’s office at (201) 319-6046. For more information on the program, call Town Hall at (201) 319-6006.
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