Police Chief John Reardon Discusses Recent Burglaries [poll]

Chief of Police John Reardon discussed the surge in residential burglaries and what residents can do to prevent them at the town council meeting on Wednesday.

Over the past couple months, there have been a high number of burglaries in Wayne, as well as the rest of North Jersey.

“It’s a sign of the times, because the economy is bad,” Reardon said. “Some of it is fueled by the heroin that is in the area, and the other piece of it is the cost of gold right now, which makes it very profitable.”

Reardon said there has been a pattern to the recent burglaries in town.

Many of the burglaries have occurred in broad daylight, in the afternoon, or in the early evening, when homes are unoccupied, Reardon said, and .

For the most part, burglaries have been non-confrontational, because no one is home when the burglars try to break in, except for a few reported instances in which the person realized the resident was home and fled immediately, Reardon said.

He said front door kick-ins, shattering sliding glass doors on the rear or side of the house and shattering windows on the rear of the house are all common methods burglars are taking.

Burglars are mostly taking cash and jewelry, he said. In three instances, the homes had alarm systems that failed to notify the police in time. By the time authorities were notified, the burglar was long gone, he said.

The police department, which has 116 officers, is doing as much as possible to investigate each burglary.

“Right now, we have a very active patrol, and these calls are our first priority,” Reardon said. “We have increased our uniform patrol and plain clothes patrol, and we’re communicating with different towns about this issue.”

Reardon discussed a few simple ways residents can help prevent burglaries.

• If you see something, say something. If you see an unfamiliar car in your neighborhood, or a person who is nearing a home is not the owner, or something just doesn't seem right, Reardon urges you to call the police. Your name will always be kept anonymous. Help your neighbor.
• Leave lights on in the house when no one is home. Make it appear occupied by leaving the television on and consider purchasing motion sensors.
• Communicate with neighbors. Ask them to take in the mail if you're not going to be home, and keep an eye out. 
• Make sure all cars that are kept outside are locked at all times, and back doors are locked.