Public Safety Concerns Raised By Resident At Chatham Council Meeting

CHATHAM, NJ — Car thefts and theft attempts have decreased since earlier this year as a result of increased police and community collaboration.

Police have commended these efforts, particularly residents' increased diligence in locking their car doors and removing all valuables from inside. However, some argue that more action is required before residents can feel completely safe again.

Residents have previously prompted Chatham officials to address the growing problem, as well as to put pressure on Trenton lawmakers to enact harsher penalties, which has resulted in a signed proclamation in support of bipartisan legislation that increases penalties for car thieves.

During last week's meeting, local resident and candidate for the Chatham Borough Council, Freddie Bicknese spoke up, requesting that more be done to address public safety.

"It does not matter how many cars are actually stolen. That statistic is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is that the bad people are still here. They could steal zero cars next month and next year and for the next ten years, if there is dangerous street criminals and gang members in our cul-de-sacs, our back residential streets… that's a problem," Bicknese said.

The topic of public safety was also recently touched upon by Chatham Borough Mayor Thaddeus Kobylarz in his annual letter to all residents.

Earlier this year, there was a statewide increase in vehicle-related crime, and the borough was especially hard hit early on, accounting for roughly 21 percent of all stolen vehicles in Morris County in January.

"Geography is partly to blame for this as we are the most southeasterly municipality in the county, with an access ramp to Route 24 right off of Main Street. But the failure of far too many car owners to properly lock their vehicles is a contributing factor as well. Fortunately, the percentage of local thefts relative to the county total is now just over 7 percent," Mayor Kobylarz said.

Mayor Kobylarz and Chief Brian Gibbons stated that every stolen vehicle in Chatham Borough in the last two years was unlocked at the time of the theft, with the key fob and valuable personal identifying information left inside. Several cars stolen in town this year were even left running while the driver dashed into a nearby shop or pharmacy.

"Eventually one of these dangerous criminals is going to get frustrated by the fact that we are doing a better job of locking our cars and they are going to invade a home as they have done recently in Madison, in Summit and Millburn," Bicknese said.

According to police, more work is being done to improve borough security, including looking to increase license plate readers as part of a collaborative effort with the Borough of Madison, Morris County and the New Jersey State Police Department.

"The bottom line here is that the Borough has taken a number of concrete and sophisticated steps to combat what is being described in law enforcement circles as the most well-organized and determined set of car theft rings in recent memory. This unfortunate phenomenon is both cyclical and opportunistic. But now that it has grabbed everyone’s attention, both in Chatham and statewide, we are beginning to see indications of improvement, at least locally," Mayor Kobylarz said.