Crime Reduction Unit Celebrates 2022 Achievements In Barnegat

BARNEGAT, NJ — In 2022, the Barnegat Police Department Crime Reduction Unit had a successful year, with 17 search warrants executed and 65 arrests made, police said.

"The Crime Reduction Unit is an elite team of highly-skilled Barnegat police officers with a history of exceptional performance," police said. "The unit is responsible for high-value investigations involving drugs, weapons, and/or gangs. The unit can also be directed at crime outbreaks in specific areas or involving specific modus operandi."

The Crime Reduction Unit (CRU) seized more than $175,000 of contraband in 2022, including quantities of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, MDMA, methamphetamine and other controlled dangerous substances (CDS).

The CRU also seized four illegally possessed handguns, two vehicles and about $100,000 in U.S. currency, police said. Read More: Barnegat Police Honored For Handling Shooting, Drug Bust

The most frequent charges in 2022 were possession of cocaine, distribution or possession with intent to distribute CDS and possession of heroin, according to the CRU.

Weapons charges included possession of a weapon during a CDS transaction, possession of armor-piercing ammunition, possession of a defaced firearm, certain persons not to possess firearms (possession of a weapon by a felon) and possession of high-capacity magazines, police said.

Chief Keith A. Germain praised the members of CRU for their dedication and commitment to keeping Barnegat safe.

"CRU is the embodiment of the precision policing concept that we are committed to as an agency. We know that a very small percentage of the population causes a vast majority of the crimes and problems in any community," Germain said. "The team in CRU has once again done a spectacular job of identifying that small percentage and ensuring that they never get a foothold in our community."