Car Thefts Prompt More Patrols In Marlboro

MARLBORO, NJ — Police patrols will increase in areas of the township targeted for car thefts, Mayor Jon Hornik announced Tuesday.

"Based on attempted vehicle thefts over the last few weeks, I have asked Chief Peter Pezzullo to increase police patrols and assets in certain areas of Marlboro (those that have been re-occurring targets)," Hornik said in a Facebook post.

He said the change should be noticeable in the next few days.

"We are in a constant battle with criminals outside our area who want to steal vehicles," he said in an interview.

He said the police are seeing certain patterns and are increasing or adjusting patrols based on those patterns. The patterns are not being discussed publicly.

This is one of a number of actions the township has been taking to keep car thefts at bay, and Hornik said the township has reduced successful car thefts by 40 percent.

For example, the township now offers the Neighbors Public Safety Service that allows town officials to share hyper-local community updates with Marlboro residents and connect with them in other ways.

This program is an expansion of Hornik’s "See Something. Say Something. We Will Do Something." initiative launched in 2018, according to a previous Patch article.

And the "Take the Pledge" initiative for residents is another piece of the security picture, Hornik added.

Hornik said residents are asked to take responsibility for safely removing their keys from vehicles, locking cars and taking other basic security measures.

He said police here are now stepping up a cell phone outreach to remind residents to take these security steps.

Hornik said he has also communicated with Gov. Phil Murphy and Acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin regarding the need for "meaningful bail reform to hold those who are threatening our safety fully accountable for their actions."

This would be a next step in addressing the issue from the state level.

Just in April, Murphy and Platkin came to Marlboro for a press conference to announce a change in pursuit rules to extend allowable pursuits to stolen car chases and other crimes, such as weapons cases and bias intimidation.

Platkin previously said he wanted to limit police chases because high-speed car chases are dangerous and can put police officers and innocent drivers alike at risk. This was part of an overhaul led by Gov. Murphy to reduce the use of force by police.

But New Jersey is currently experiencing a surge of people stealing cars: The first three months of 2022 saw a 53 percent increase in motor vehicle thefts from 2020, said the governor's office. It's even more serious for luxury cars: High-end motor vehicle thefts skyrocketed 127 percent from last January to the end of January 2022, according to State Police, according to a previous Patch article.

Hornik said he lobbied for the change in pursuit rules earlier this year. He said under the changed rules, a supervisory decision by the police department would determine if a pursuit is warranted.

"Together, with Chief Pezzullo and Marlboro police, we will remain diligent to keep our town safe," Hornik concluded in the post.