MILLSTONE — More than 30 people gathered at the Township Committee meeting on Oct. 8 in the face of heightened concerns about burglaries in Millstone Township.
Mayor Bob Kinsey introduced New Jersey State Police Detective Sgt. Sean Fitzgerald and New Jersey State Police Detective II Giuseppe Diodati and the officers provided an update on burglaries in the past 12 months, they offered crime prevention tips and they took questions from the public.
Millstone is served by the state police.
Kinsey said he wanted the officers to shed light on the incidents rather than relying on word of mouth and rumors.
“I assume a lot of people are here tonight because of a topic that has been going around (regarding) some burglaries,” the mayor said. “We have detectives from the state police to address the committee and give an update.”
Fitzgerald said he reviewed the crime statistics regarding burglaries for the past year.
“I know there has been a slight increase in burglaries recently, but overall there are actually fewer than last year,” he said. “It is more word of mouth rumors than reality.”
In the past six months there have been six reported burglaries in town, Fitzgerald said. Two involved abandoned homes. One was an inside job and police made an arrest. One home was vandalized, possibly by children, and a second house was vandalized and equipment was stolen from a contractor.
“There are really only three active burglaries in the past six months that we are investigating,” Fitzgerald said, adding there are no suspects.
The officer said burglars generally look for gold because it can be exchanged for cash.
“We are in tune with residents from speaking with them,” Fitzgerald said. “From prior experiences, the suspects have come from neighborhoods, surrounding towns, and in one case, an outside state. There is no pattern. There is not anybody we can assume is guilty. It seems to be random.”
The burglaries in Millstone have no definitive pattern.
“Millstone Township is a safe town with very little violence,” Fitzgerald said. “There has been a reduction of home burglaries this year compared to last year.”
Kinsey asked if the police could determine whether the burglaries were crimes of opportunity and how they occurred.
“Someone leaves (their home) for three hours and comes back and the house is reported burglarized,” Fitzgerald said. “Is that random or does someone know their schedule? These are all daytime burglaries while occupants were away.”
Fitzgerald offered tips on crime prevention. He said in general, the weakest point in a house is the sliding glass door. He suggested that residents place a two-by-four in the bottom of the door for extra support and install shatterproof glass that would make noise if it was broken.
Fitzgerald suggested that residents should write down the license plate number of suspicious vehicles, use motion sensor lighting in dimly lit areas and install an alarm system. He said they should be aware of suspicious people and be able to describe them if the need arises to do so.
“If someone knocks on your door and asks if you have seen his black German shepherd, get a good description of that person and call the police,” the officer said. “That is suspicious, nobody does that. A person like that is casing your house.”
Resident Billy Hanson expressed surprise regarding the report about burglary incidents. He said he thought there were more than six in the past six months. Hanson asked the officers what police were doing to catch the suspects.
Fitzgerald said police are around, sometimes in unmarked cars, but he said burglars are difficult to catch.
Ravi Gupta said his home was burglarized on Oct. 5. He said it took the state police 80 minutes to respond to his residence.
“What else can we do to have a quick response from the police? What actions can we take? A lot can happen in 80 minutes. It is an easy answer (to get an alarm and shatterproof glass). We had that and it did not work. I feel very insecure,” Gupta said.
Fitzgerald was aware of that burglary and said a representative of the alarm company gave the trooper an address in neighboring Upper Freehold Township. The trooper went to Millstone Township after realizing the address was incorrect.
Fitzgerald said he believes an alarm is important for safety, especially if someone is home during a burglary.
“You know the police are going to come,” he said. “The alarm won’t always prevent burglaries, but it just might.”
Gupta said, “This is not a good feeling to have. My concern is more about what if you were in the house and somebody armed (with a weapon) broke in? Will there be more frequent controls so the town is safer or do we have to do something ourselves?”
Fitzgerald said no one can completely prevent a burglary from occurring in a rural community, but he said people can try to lessen the chances of having their home entered.
He suggested that people who have unique valuable items should photograph and document those items so police might be able to identify them if a burglar tried to sell an object at a pawn shop.
Neeta Gupta said she felt victimized by the burglary at her home.
“Did you see the burglaries rise during the holiday season? It will get worse before it gets better,” she said.
In December 2014, Millstone Township was “hit hard,” Fitzgerald said.
“Now burglaries are down this year,” he said. “Summer was relatively quiet.”
Fitzgerald said police do not know if one person is responsible for all of the Millstone burglaries.