Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Monroe Township residents press council over recent burglaries; administration cites overall drop in incidents and stepped-up patrols
Summary
At the Dec. 18 Monroe Township Council meeting, residents from Stratford and other neighborhoods pressed officials over a series of recent burglaries. Business Administrator Alan Weinberg read crime statistics showing fewer burglaries year‑to‑date than last year and described increased patrols, camera use and planned treatment for PFAS-affected wells.
Residents at Monroe Township’s Dec. 18 council meeting urged the township to do more after a spate of burglaries in the Stratford area, while township officials said they have increased patrols, expanded surveillance and continue to invest in police staffing and technology.
Business Administrator Alan Weinberg read a prepared response to resident emails, saying Monroe recorded 50 burglaries in 2023, 32 as of Nov. 30, 2024, and 36 through Dec. 18, 2024 — ‘‘14 less than the burglaries we had last year,’’ he said, and added that the township is ‘‘trending in the right direction.’’ Weinberg said the township has increased patrols in affected neighborhoods, uses license‑plate readers and Flock cameras to detect stolen vehicles and coordinates with county, state and federal partners when needed.
‘‘Much of our success in keeping our incidents down is because of the active communication between local, county, state and federal law‑enforcement agencies,’’ Weinberg said as he read the letter into the record. He said the mayor and council have increased the police force to 70 officers and that the township is investing in a CAD dispatch upgrade and additional patrol vehicles.
Mayor Steven Delina told the meeting the council is ‘‘there to support our police’’ and noted that a recent vote on agenda resolutions approved upgrades to dispatch software and funding for three additional police cars by a majority he described as 4–1. He said investments such as cameras and staffing have produced measurable results but acknowledged the emotional impact on victims.
Residents called for more‑targeted, sustained patrols in Stratford, clearer Nixle (Nixle) or neighborhood alerts, and easier ways for citizens to submit footage from home cameras. ‘‘We don’t see any apprehensions,’’ said Pradeep Melam, who asked why he had not received Nixle alerts about recent incidents. Raju Dantiluri described multiple burglaries within days and urged ‘‘one dedicated patrolman for Stanford [Stanford/Stratford] for the next 3–4 months.’’
Weinberg and other officials replied that patrols are increased when multiple incidents occur in the same area, that police analyze times and locations to allocate resources, and that residents should report incidents so they appear in the CAD system and can be tracked. Weinberg said some incidents in Stratford had not been logged as motor‑vehicle thefts in the CAD system and urged residents who believed a theft was unreported to see him after the meeting.
Other public‑safety items raised during public comment included requests to expand Flock camera coverage, publish more detailed monthly crime reports, and make clearer which cases remain open or closed. Officials said they will follow up with residents and that the police department plans additional public outreach and crime‑prevention workshops in 2025.
The council did not take a separate, immediate policy vote at the meeting to create a special, dedicated Stratford patrol; staff said they would meet with affected neighborhood groups and the police chief for follow‑up.
What’s next: township staff will continue to deploy extra patrols in hotspot areas, distribute the crime statistics already posted on the township website, and meet with residents from Stratford to discuss localized responses and camera/data sharing.
