MILLSTONE – Following a series of burglaries from vehicles in Millstone Township, representatives of the New Jersey State Police have provided information about recent activities in an attempt to alleviate any concerns residents may have.
Detectives Giuseppe Diodati and Jeff Botti appeared before the Township Committee on Aug. 2. Their appearance came one month after three male juveniles who are residents of a group home in the township were charged with burglary and theft.
Millstone does not have its own municipal police force and is patrolled by the state police.
According to Diodati, about 50 vehicle burglaries were reported in the township over a two-day period. The three juveniles are suspected of being responsible for the incidents.
Botti said that only unlocked vehicles were burglarized and he emphasized the importance of locking a vehicle when it is parked outside a residence.
“There was absolutely no forced entry, no attempt at forced entry in any of those [incidents],” Botti said. “When you have teenagers [who] are pretty mobile, they can [enter multiple cars] in 15 to 20 minutes. It does sound like a significant number, but it was an isolated incident and Detective Diodati and a couple of other guys had that knocked out within 72 hours. We knew who did it, we knew where it was coming from.”
Apart from the car burglaries, Diodati told the members of the governing body that only one attempted residential burglary occurred in the township during the past four months.
There was also a commercial burglary crew that was primarily responsible for incidents in Burlington County, but two incidents occurred in Millstone. Three arrests have since been made in connection with those crimes, according to Botti.
“Those are great numbers,” Diodati said. “Other than [the car burglaries], there are no major incidents that happened in Millstone.”
“We are in very good shape,” Botti said.
The officers said they found the presence of the group homes in Millstone Township to be no different than group homes in other towns. They said the state police will maintain contact with New Jersey Mentor, which oversees the group home in which the three juveniles reside.
When asked by Committeeman Gary Dorfman if the presence of the group homes was impacting the state police’s ability to respond to other events in the community, Botti acknowledged there was a higher volume of calls for service with the group homes, but said he believes police have enough personnel to manage the situation.
Committeeman Bob Kinsey asked if the group homes create any increased burdens on the state police.
Diodati said a primary responsibility for police is locating young people who run away from a residence.
“When they run away, it is all hands on deck,” Diodati said. “We have to find these kids because they are between the ages of 13 and 17. So our goal and our mission when we are on patrol [is to] locate these kids for their safety. A lot of assets go into that, it could be four or five troop cars, [or] depending on the situation, a helicopter. It is all scenario-based, whether it is a burden or not.”
Mayor Michael Kuczinski reasoned that issues are created by specific incidents rather than by the presence of the group homes themselves and the officers agreed with that assessment of the situation.
To keep residents safe, Kinsey suggested that municipal officials and representatives of the state police and New Jersey Mentor engage in future conversations concerning the group homes.
