Home, Car Burglaries On The Rise In Montgomery

MONTGOMERY, NJ — Home and car burglaries are on the rise in Montgomery and police are asking residents for help in keeping the township safe.

Since October there have been 3 home burglaries and nine car burglaries, Montgomery Police Lt. Jim Gill said.

"While these numbers don’t seem high for a community of this size, reminding our residents about crime prevention measures and awareness will hopefully prevent future incidents and lead to tips to help us solve the past incidents. Please lock your vehicle doors. Remove all valuables as this seems to be the precursor to the victims that are chosen," Gill said.

The home burglaries have all been in the northern end of the Township near Route 206 where they had little or no street lighting, Gill said.

No one was home during the burglaries as the homeowners were either out for the evening or away for a few days. None of the homes had lights on timers, Gill said.

Additionally, there have been a "significant number of car burglaries" throughout the township.

This past weekend there were seven reported vehicle burglaries where all but three cars were left unlocked. The other three cars had their smashed windows and happened in commercial parking lots.

All of the unlocked vehicles were in local neighborhoods and driveways.

"Some of these vehicles had personal items in plain view such as purses that were taken, others were rummaged through in search of loose change, electronics and wallets that were taken," Gill said.

Most recently in the early morning hours of Friday two more vehicles were stolen and one was later found. During the theft of one of the vehicles, someone entered a home but scared off by the resident, Gill said.

Residents are being asked to help police to keep the community safe by providing any information to Montgomery Township Police Detective/Sgt. Hofacker at 908-533-9192. Or call 908-359-3222 or dial 911 to report any suspicious vehicles or crime in progress.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.

Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here.