Chief Addresses Crime Uptick, Police Response In Chatham Borough (2024)

Chatham Borough has employed two new police officers in response to recent reports of forced-entry burglaries in the area.`

Posted Thu, Jan 25, 2024 at 4:39 pm ET|Updated Thu, Jan 25, 2024 at 11:21 pm ET

Before the borough council meeting on Jan. 22, Gibbons delivered a presentation on the local police force's law enforcement efforts, as well as answering questions about residents' concerns.

Gibbons was joined at the meeting by Lieutenants Rick Jaremba and Dan Walsh, Captain Ralph Colatrella and Detective Andrew Chase.

In Chatham Borough, the trend of home invasions has been on the rise, with roughly five home burglaries and thefts occurring in surrounding neighborhoods since April 2023.

This month, two homes in the borough have been burglarized.

On Jan. 14, an occupied home on upper Fairmount Avenue was broken into, resulting in the theft of two vehicles from the driveway. The suspects gained entry to the home by breaking a first-floor window and then stealing the keys to the vehicles from inside.

On Jan. 15, an unoccupied Chandler Road residence was also burglarized. The suspects made their way into the home through the rear glass door and fled through the front door after several minutes, when the home burglar alarm was activated.

No suspects were caught, police said.

"Much of this is what keeps me up at night," Gibbons said.

According to police data, the borough had approximately 10 cars stolen in 2023, which was a decrease from 2022, when 22 cars were stolen.

Gibbons said that 2021 was the first year that Chatham saw a "significant spike" in stolen high-end motor vehicles.

"This is not just a Chatham problem. This is a state and national problem going on," Gibbons said.

The vehicles most sought by criminals are Audi's, BMWs, Land Rovers and Jeeps, police said.

Police attribute the minor decrease to the police department's improving interaction with the community, particularly through community-based policing programs like the "Lock it or Lose it" campaign.

Unfortunately, Chatham Borough homeowners and police are discovering that locking car doors and other access points to their houses has not deterred the thieves, who are increasingly forcing their way into homes in the middle of the night to steal cars and keys.

"You heeded our warnings, you locked the doors, you removed the keys and this is a predictable evolution that we are seeing now in failed thefts as a result of your efforts. What we're seeing now is the manifestation of frustrated criminals who no longer get the vehicles easily at Dunkin' Donuts or Noah's Bagels, or in the driveway with the doors open and the key fobs in them," Gibbons said.

While specific questions about the ongoing burglary investigations were not permitted to be answered to preserve the integrity of the investigation, Gibbons did state that they had some "very promising leads."

Chatham Borough residents were reminded to sign up for Smart911 to receive more up-to-date information and assist law enforcement. Gibbons also promised additional news releases to keep citizens informed, as well as a monthly release of crime statistics in the near future.

As previously stated, Gibbons reassured the community that additional police officers are being assigned and reassigned to areas experiencing an upsurge in burglary activity. Additional technologies are also being deployed to aid local police, and special enforcement teams have been activated to supplement patrol.

Gibbons also said that two new police officers had been hired by the department and been officially approved by the Chatham Borough Council during the executive session portion of the meeting on Monday.

The two new officers will be onboarded immediately, Gibbons said.

A public Zoom meeting with Gibbons, Chief Miller of Chatham Township and other county and state police officials will also be held on Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. to provide further information and lay out some of the options available for crime prevention and response.

According to Gibbons, members from the Morris County Prosecutor's Office, the F.B.I. and the NJ State Police Auto Theft Task Force will be in attendance.

Residents will have the opportunity to ask questions in the virtual forum.