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Westfield chief: most stolen vehicles left unlocked with key fobs; department pushes recoveries and targeted investigations
Summary
Chief Chris Battilora said many recent motor vehicle burglaries and thefts involved unlocked cars with key fobs, reported 26 motor-vehicle burglaries in 2021 and six thefts to date, and described coordination with the New Jersey State Police and decoy-car tactics to make arrests.
Westfield Police Chief Chris Battilora told a live forum that the town's recent surge in motor vehicle burglaries and thefts is largely driven by opportunistic behavior: in many cases vehicles were left unlocked and contained key fobs, making them easy targets.
"In almost every...instance, these vehicles were left unlocked," Battilora said, and he gave headline figures: 26 motor vehicle burglaries in 2021 and six motor vehicle thefts to date in 2021. He said all six thefts involved vehicles left unlocked with a key or key fob inside and that most stolen cars have been recovered.
Battilora described investigative partnerships to recover vehicles and identify suspects, saying the department assigned a detective full time to work with the New Jersey State Police motor vehicle crimes unit in Newark. He recounted a recent recovery in Irvington in which detectives closed on a BMW X5, made arrests after a foot chase and recovered firearms; he said those recoveries exposed officers to unexpected risks because suspects may be tied to violent crimes outside town.
On enforcement tactics, Battilora described decoy-car operations. In one operation officers arrested a man seen checking door handles, set up plainclothes officers and nondescript decoy cars, then rearrested the suspect after he resumed checking vehicles. "We have made arrests using decoy cars," he said, but added that the department does not have high-value vehicles such as BMW X5s to use as decoys and appealed to residents not to leave valuables or keys in cars.
Battilora framed several prevention steps as resident responsibilities: locking vehicles, removing valuables, and reporting suspicious activity. "These are crimes of opportunity," he said, urging consistent community action to reduce risk and noting that resource constraints limit continuous patrols across more than 10,600 households.
The chief also cited some successes: arrests of juveniles for car burglaries and frequent recoveries attributed to detective work and interagency intelligence-sharing. He said targeted enforcement and persistent reporting by alert residents led to several disruptions of active burglary efforts.
The chief and mayor agreed ongoing public education and cooperation are necessary; Battilora said the department will continue focused enforcement and investigative assignments but that eliminating the problem will also require residents to reduce opportunities for thieves.
