During the public comment portion of the Wednesday, April 10, meeting of the Township Council, members of the public discussed increases in crime, flying the Israeli flag, and the town’s shooting range.
Crime Concerns
Lauren Scher of Thames Drive discussed her concerns about crime in town.
Specifically, Scher’s home was recently burglarized. Individuals broke into her home, stealing jewelry and other valuables.
She said that the experience was not only traumatic, but evident of an uptick in crime in Livingston, especially near Route 280, which many criminals use to quickly enter and exit town. Scher asked for an increased police presence to combat this issue.
Mayor A1 Anthony said that the Council was sorry that Scher experienced that, with Council member Shawn Klein calling it “gut-wrenching” to hear.
“There’s nothing that this Council takes more seriously than public safety,” Klein said. “It is always the number one item on our budget every year, by far. We’re very aware that it’s a widespread issue, but it’s our job to take care of Livingston and we really want to do that.”
Klein noted that Police Chief Gary Marshuetz has said that installing license plate readers (LPRs) have been very helpful, even stopping some crimes before they occur.
Andy Liss of Hadrian Drive echoed similar sentiments while stating that he was representing 200 families in the Bel Air and Bel Air Woods section of town who are concerned about home and car burglaries. He said that the residents of those neighborhoods pay off-duty police officers for additional patrols of their developments.
Township manager Barry Lewis said that town officials are looking at current staffing levels and considering increasing the size of the police department. Equipment such as LPRs, will continue to be implemented, as well.
“We are very committed to not only looking at our manpower, obviously there are budgetary limits, but this is a priority already,” Lewis (Continued on Page A-8) said. “Our public safety, police, and fire are by far the largest component of our budget and will continue to be so. But also looking at technology and other methods that we can police even more efficiently.”
Township attorney Jarrid Kantor noted that the problem is not limited to Livingston specifically, as it is affecting other nearby towns, as well. He noted that the uptick is directly related to changes in bail reform that have allowed suspects to be quickly released and return to committing these crimes, as they are less afraid of the consequences.
Klein said everyone on the dias has lobbied state and county officials to change the statutes that have been associated with the uptick in these types of crimes.
Israeli Flag
Following last week’s attack on Israel by Iran, Livingston flew the Israeli flag outside of Town Hall. The flag previously flew in front of Town Hall following the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, as well as each year on Israel’s Independence Day. It will be raised for that holiday again next month.
During the April 10 Council meeting, several residents thanked the Council for supporting Israel in the wake of the Iranian attack.
Shooting Range
East Hanover residents returned to the Council meeting to once again ask that the Livingston Police Firing Range be enclosed. Council members and town officials noted again that State Police are no longer using the facility, which has been in use since the 1960s. That change should return the noise coming from the range to the previous level, officials have said. Livingston and other nearby police departments still use the range for training.
The discussion between East Hanover residents and town officials became heated at times, as those speaking were asking the town for requests that the town did not seem prepared to grant, specifically building a costly enclosure to something that has, in the opinion of town officials, operated without incident for many decades up until recently.
