July is National Vehicle Theft Prevention Month, and according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a vehicle is stolen every 31 seconds in the United States. Yet, over the past few months, readers may have noticed fewer articles about car thefts in the Tribune. That is because we have received significantly fewer reports about these types of crimes in Livingston. The Township Council confirmed this was the case at a recent meeting. Chief of Police Gary Marshuetz is expected to discuss the hard numbers behind this downturn in thefts at an upcoming Council meeting.
After a sustained period of a few years, it appears that Livingston is finally turning a corner in regard to these incidents. The reasons, at least anecdotally and based on the reports we receive from the police department, appear to be twofold.
The first is that education and awareness are finally working. After years of the police department, township officials, and, yes, our paper, begging people to lock their vehicles and take their keys inside with them when they get home, the vast majority of residents finally seem to understand the urgency. The best way to prevent these thefts is to simply lock the cars and not leave the keys inside of them. It appears that most people now understand that.
The second reason is that the license plate readers (LPRs) purchased by the town for the police department’s use in early 2023 are working as intended. These cameras are installed at specific thruways leading out of Livingston, specifically in an effort to help combat the rash of car thefts that have occurred in town in recent years (there were more than 100 cars stolen in Livingston between 2020 and 2022, many of them unlocked with the key fobs left in them). At the time the LPRs were purchased, Chief Marshuetz stated they would be a critical component in cracking down on these thefts; by tracking the stolen car through its plate number as it exits town, it is easier to locate the vehicle and suspects involved. They have been in use for about a year now, and – privacy concerns about how the LPRs are used notwithstanding – appear to have cut down on thefts, as intended.
One thing we have noticed in reporting on crime in town, has been an uptick in home invasions. An unfortunate side effect of residents being smarter about locking their cars has been that some determined thieves have been emboldened to break into homes in search of the keys. There were three such incidents in one recent June week, certainly a rarity this year. Hopefully, this is not the start of a new trend; the amount of home invasions are significantly lower than the number of weekly car thefts Livingston reported at its peak.
The fight is not over – there are still thefts in town and until that number is at zero, there is room for improvement. But, overall, Livingston is in a significantly better place in regards to vehicle thefts than it was a few years ago, thanks to a concerted effort of our residents, town officials, and our police department.
