By Lea Kahn
The trend toward fewer major crimes occurring in Lawrence Township was broken in 2010, caused by a small uptick in assaults and larcenies and thefts, according to statistics compiled by the Lawrence Township Police Department.
The 2010 annual crime report, released to Township Council last month, showed a 3 percent increase in major crimes 1,008 major crimes in 2010, as compared to 974 in 2009. That number is still fewer than the 1,102 major crimes reported in 2008; 1,073 crimes in 2007; and 1,125 in 2006. Police reported 1,316 crimes in 2005 and 1,326 in 2004.
The crimes of murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny and theft, car theft and arson are classified as major crimes and reported to the New Jersey State Police. The results are compiled in the NJSP’s statewide annual Uniform Crime Report.
The last murder occurred in 2001. The number of robberies has stayed the same at 19, for the past three years. There were fewer rapes reported, declining from 10 in 2009 to 3 in 2010.
The number of motor vehicle thefts went down from 31 in 2009 to 16 last year. Arson declined from 14 to 9, year over year.
Assaults, however, increased from 148 in 2009 to 151 in 2010, or 2 percent. There was a 9 percent increase in larcenies and thefts, jumping from 656 in 2009 to 717 last year. But the number of burglaries declined from 96 in 2009, to 93 last year.
Chief of Police Daniel Posluszny acknowledged the increase in larcenies and thefts, pointing to a rash of break-ins to cars during the summer. Thieves stole many global positioning system devices, which he said are a “hot black market item.”
Many of the thefts involved unlocked cars, Chief Posluszny said. Residents should make certain that they lock the car, whether it is parked in the driveway or on the street, he said, adding that thieves try the door handles to find out if a car is unlocked.
Acknowledging the slight increase in assaults, Chief Posluszny said assaults typically come from “mutual combatants.” There are a wide range of reasons for fights, from incidents at school to road rage, he said.
”Any time crime increases, it is a concern,” Chief Posluszny said. “Public safety is foremost in the community. But I think you are going to see some type of evolution in policing. There are monetary concerns in the community, and there are fewer police officers because of budget concerns.”
The Lawrence Police Department has not had to lay off police officers, preferring to reduce the number of police officers through attrition. When an officer retires, the vacancy is not filled. The Police Department is authorized to have 70 police officers from the patrolmen to the chief of police but there are 65 police officers, including 41 patrol officers.
Chief Posluszny was quick to point out that crimes accounted for about 8 percent of the 50,615 calls for service last year. Calls for service may involve reporting fraud or harassment, investigating suspicious persons, checking out alarms, and responding to a call for noise complaints or property damage.
Meanwhile, the evolution in policing is already taking place, Chief Posluszny said. There are fewer police officers involved in “ancillary” activities, which is defined as anything other than patrol, he said. This includes the school resource officer program and the police officers who used to attend the National Night Out festivities at the Eggerts Crossing Village affordable townhouse development every summer, for example.
The Police Department dropped its school resource officer program in June 2010 and reassigned the officer to other duties, Chief Posluszny said. The SRO was assigned to divide his time between Lawrence High School and Lawrence Middle School. He taught students about the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol, and also conducted informal counseling on other social issues.
For the past few years, police officers attended the “National Night Out” barbecue at Eggerts Crossing Village, off Johnson Avenue. It offered the police an opportunity to mingle with the residents of the affordable housing complex, but there was a noticeable absence of the police there last summer because of the concern for overtime pay, the police chief said.
”You have to decide as a community, what services can you do without, and what services you cannot do without,” Chief Posluszny said. “It’s more a function of what services you want to provide. The services you provide dictates the assignments.”
Police officers may not be assigned to respond to noise complaints, for example, but they will be sent to answer reports of property crime or threats of violence. They will continue to respond to medical emergency and fire calls, he said.
”We have felt the impact (of fewer police officers), but we have not cut services as of yet,” Chief Posluszny said. “We are making every attempt to keep up. It all comes down to the determination of the community what the budget will bear.”

