Hamilton residents express concern over burglaries during neighborhood crime watch meeting.
Last year, a rash of burglaries in Golden Crest had residents of the Hamilton Square neighborhood up in arms.
They vented their frustration to police during last summer’s neighborhood’s crime watch meeting held at the parish center at St. Gregory the Great Roman Catholic Church. The frustration made waves throughout the township, and the police promised change.
A year has passed, and burglaries have continued. But, for the most part, residents had only positive feedback for the police department and the crime watch program during a May 15 crime watch meeting at St. Gregory the Great. Captain James Stevens of the Hamilton Police Department said this was the result of the public safety department’s increased efforts to communicate directly with Hamilton residents after the break-ins made safety concerns more prevalent.
“Once people get the information, and they’re well-informed, it tends to change the perspective,” Stevens said. “It’s a two-way dialogue that helps the information flow back and forth.”
Mayor Kelly Yaede said she, police chief James Collins and business administrator John Ricci have met with any resident who wanted to air grievances about the way the break-ins have been handled. She said they have gone to some Golden Crest homes at residents’ requests.
“We’ve had officers meet with residents on their own time,” she said. “That accessibility has provided the residents with an additional level of confidence knowing that we are being proactive and that over the last several months, they’ve had access to my administration.”
One of the chief concerns residents have expressed is the actual police presence in the individual neighborhoods. At the May meeting, one resident asked if the police department was doing anything extra for Golden Crest. Another attendee suggested that officers park their cars in a visible spot and walk around the neighborhood at random.
“We want to create a relationship between residents and the police department,” the resident said. “Driving around is nice, but there’s more that can be done.”
Detective Steven Gould responded that it was a manpower issue. And Yaede, in an interview a month later, agreed.
“Our officers can’t be everywhere all the time,” Yaede said. “It is very important that the residents call us and let us know when they see something out of the norm.”
In the meantime, the township recently applied for a federal grant that could increase personnel. The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant would provide half of the funding for up to eight new police officers. The bid is still waiting on approval.
In some instances, residents can help themselves. In the last 10 months, there have been 18 home and 18 vehicle burglaries in the area, including three home break-ins leading up to the May meeting. Every vehicle entered was unlocked, and nearly half of the home burglaries were the result of an unlocked door or window, Stevens said. The police are trying to inform residents that prevention is key.
“The more time it takes for someone to commit a crime, the less likely it is to happen,” Stevens said. “When residents take those steps to prevent easy access, it makes it very difficult. It takes longer to enter your home or vehicle. If you secure your home when you’re out at night or on vacation, you’re less likely to be targeted.”
Yaede said crimes of opportunity are the most prevalent in the township. Anything from a GPS left on a car’s dashboard to a piece of jewelry left in plain sight from window is an easy target for a criminal. Recently, a neighborhood in Yardville fell victim to a group who walked around town testing car doors. Every unlocked car in the neighborhood was burglarized.
“The criminals are actually looking for those objects,” Yaede said. “That spree could have been prevented if the door was locked. I hear residents say, ‘We’re in Hamilton. That won’t happen to me.’ When someone is in town committing a crime, it doesn’t matter where you live. The safest communities have crime. If something is left in a vehicle, they’ll go for it. They’re savvy. They want to go for the quick grab and get it out on the street.”
Detective Quincy Hendryx said at the May 15 meeting that many criminals walk up and down a targeted street waiting for residents to leave their homes. He urged them to report a suspicious person or vehicle immediately.
“You know your neighborhood,” he said. “If you don’t know it, get to know it. It’s good to know your neighbors’ cars. If I know my neighbor isn’t home but a car is sitting outside of his house with the interior light on, I know that’s suspicious.”
Yaede said residents should to go with their guts.
“So many people have that intuition to call, but they don’t want to be a nuisance,” she said. “Call us. In my conversations with the police, numerous residents may have seen a strange person or a strange vehicle lingering around the neighborhood, but didn’t call. You can understand their reasons. Several homes were burglarized in the township, and the reason we were able to catch them was because someone placed the call.”
Stevens said the crime watch meetings and virtual crime watch, located on the Hamilton Township website, are key in terms of educating residents.
“You can prevent yourselves from being victimized,” he said. “Learning how to secure your home, lock windows, leave lights on—it’s the whole progression of not being a victim. That’s a huge part of the dialogue.”
