Weehawken police are investigating a spree of six car break-ins in a row on Pershing Road on Saturday, May 17, and have issued advice to motorists on how to avoid becoming a victim.
“We know exactly where the cars were parked,” said Jeff Fulcher, Deputy Chief of Public Safety for Weehawken Police. “We’ve had patrols in the area; that’s an area that is regularly checked. For investigation purposes, I don’t want to give away too much, but we believe they were all done close to the same span of time.”
All of the break-ins involved the side window being smashed.
The vehicles broken into ranged from a 2002 Toyota Corolla, which had nothing taken although the vehicle was ransacked, to a 1995 Honda Civic, from which the driver of the vehicle reported the stereo had been removed. Other vehicles included a 2003 Toyota Corolla, a 1997 Toyota, a 2001 Honda, and a 1999 blue, 4-door vehicle of an undisclosed make and model.
“This whole thing could have taken less than five minutes.” – Jeff Fulcher
________
An unusual incident
“This whole thing could have taken less than five minutes,” said Fulcher. “We have adapted some of our patrol tactics. Whenever we see something like this, we immediately make changes. I can’t go into detail as to what they are.”
When asked if he was hopeful of ever catching the people who did this, Fulcher responded: “It’s possible. If we don’t catch them directly, a neighboring town might catch them doing something similar, and because our detectives are always meeting with and talking to the other agencies’ detectives, we generally will eventually find out who is doing it. But [we’re] not too hopeful about recovering too much of the property. It’s usually disposed of pretty quickly after it’s taken.”
Police believe this was a random act, and called it very unusual for that many cars to be burglarized in a small area.
Motorcycle stolen
Meanwhile, on the same day, a 1993 Harley Davidson Motorcycle was stolen while its driver stopped for a bite to eat at the restaurants at Lincoln Harbor.
“It’s statistically proven that as the economy turns downward, crime usually turns upward,” Fulcher said, “property crime usually being the popular increase, because it’s easy, it takes a moment to break into somebody’s property. [We’re] fortunate in that nothing serious has happened. We hope to prevent something like this from ever happening again. The economy is definitely a factor.”
Keeping your vehicle safe
How do you make sure your vehicle doesn’t become bait for a possible burglar? How do you keep your vehicle safe? Police said the key is common sense.
“Do not leave anything visible inside the passenger compartment,” said Fulcher. “Not mounting devices, like the suction cups for GPS things, or phone cord chargers which are mistaken for iPod chargers. Certainly don’t leave laptops, packages, items in bags from name brand stores.”
Police said to lock all your vehicle’s doors. Try to park in well-lit areas that are visible to those who pass by and may be able to report any suspicious activity. Place items out of sight if they are to be stored in your car, and if your vehicle has an anti-theft alarm, make sure it’s set.
As an added precaution, you can mark your belongings with a personal identifier so if you ever become a victim of a car burglary that might help police to trace the item back to you.
If your vehicle is broken into, call the Weehawken Police Department at (201)863-7800.
Fulcher said it’s possible for a victim to hear from the Police Department before they notice their vehicle has been burglarized because they regularly patrol the neighborhoods.
Melissa Rappaport may be reached at editorial@hudsonreporter.com