Mention the word “profile” in the context of a police story and it often refers to the behavior of the police. But now police are concerned about profiling, specifically by criminals targeting certain ethnic groups that they believe may possess large quantities of cash or jewelry.
In West Windsor the trend was evident most dramatically on July 12, when a family returning home late at night was tied up by thieves who proceeded to steal jewelry and a safe containing tens of thousands in cash. West Windsor Police believe the house — own by a Dominican family — was targeted by thieves who followed the husband home from his job in New York City.
While neither Mayor Hsueh nor Business Administrator Robert Hary view home burglary crimes as bias attacks or being based solely on the ethnicity of the victims, the town will be proactive in keeping guard. Hary said West Windsor Police Chief Joe Pica will give a presentation on crimes targeting Asian homes at the Town Council’s September 6 meeting.
Plainsboro Chief Richard Furda recently noted in a township newsletter that some perpetrators are aware of their victims’ culture.
Plainsboro Councilman Narun Nabi, a native of Bangladesh, expressed his concerns. “As a councilman as well as a Southeast Asian person I am dearly concerned to hear about crimes targeting Asian Americans and Indian Americans in particular,” he said.
“The criminals targeting Southeast Asian communities know that our people have jewelry. It’s not just items brought from their home countries or from Indian jewelry stores (like the row on Oak Tree Road in Edison). You can go to Macy’s and other stores — almost 50 percent of buyers in the jewelry section are Indian or Asian. Many times the criminals are from out of town — they possibly visit Edison or Jackson Heights and follow people back to this area,” he says.
West Windsor Police Lt. Rob Garofalo said the police are aware of the trend targeting Indians and Asians in several states, however not many occurrences have caught their attention.
Nonetheless the police plan to take proactive measures. “More detectives and officers in unmarked vehicles will patrol neighborhoods and take notice of anything remotely suspicious such as open garage doors or gates,” Garofalo said. For thieves, indicators of an opportunity for crime include no lighting in the home or on the premises and no shoes in the doorway or entrance area.
The Plainsboro Police have also taken steps to combat the crimes, including setting up an anonymous tipline at 609-454-4900 and working on an Internet forum for residents to voice their concerns. More details are available online at PlainsboroOnWatch.com
Councilman Nabi said watchdog teams are helping keep neighborhoods safe and he says residents join join in such efforts and work with police. He had some general pointers.
“Criminals have no rhymes or reasons — they’re looking for an easy target. Police are doing their best, but I think residents should be cautious. It’s wise to store jewelry in a bank locker, and with banking cards it is not necessary to keep much cash in the home.If someone can afford to, they should install a burglar alarm. Even spotting the (lawn or window) sign that there’s a burglar alarm on a property can discourage a thief,” Nabi said.
Burglaries can hit any home at any time. Nabi says it’s difficult to generalize crime situations, adding that in his neighborhood a Caucasian family was burglarized recently in a span of three hours when they went out to eat dinner.
“They returned home and everything was gone, and they couldn’t believe it,” he said.
