Through continual review of the department’s crime statistics, Moorestown PD can place law enforcement resources where they are most needed.
The numbers are in for 2017. Each year, the state Department of Law and Public Safety releases the states’ Uniform Crime Report, which compiles every municipality’s crime data. Police officials say the statistics are valuable.
“We use the statistics as a yearly pointer on crime trends,” Chief of Police Lee Lieber said. “More importantly, we review crime statistics on a daily basis, so we can quickly address criminal activity at the locations in the township it is occurring.”
In 2016, Moorestown reported 48 burglaries, while in 2017, there were 30 burglaries reported in town. Lieber said burglaries are typically cyclical in nature. He said Moorestown was fortunate to see a decrease this past year while some neighboring areas experienced a significant number of break-ins.
“I am confident that aggressive patrolling by our officers in our neighborhoods can have an impact on a potential burglar’s thought process as they are looking for a residence to break in to,” Lieber said.
Residents’ vigilance can be a world of difference, according to Lieber. He said engaging residents is an important part of preventing burglaries, and the department would rather be called for a false alarm than miss an opportunity to prevent a crime.
Lieber said there are steps residents can take to prevent becoming a victim of a break-in. He encourages residents to contact police to schedule a house check if they know they will be away for an extended period of time. He also recommended residents arrange for their lawns to be mowed, mail to be held and to make sure their homes look occupied while they’re away.
He said residents should check locks on doors and windows and replace them with secure devices. Resident should change locks immediately if their keys are lost or stolen and always arm their alarm systems.
“While no prevention method is 100 percent effective, an alarm system is excellent for home security,” Lieber said. “It provides peace of mind to homeowners, especially while on vacation. There is a wide variety of alarm systems on the market.”
In the event of a break-in, residents should not enter, should use a neighbor’s phone to call for police and should not touch anything until the police have inspected for evidence, Lieber said.
While burglaries saw an overall decrease, simple assaults rose from 19 in 2016 to 34 in 2017. Lieber said by definition, simple assault is purposely, knowingly or recklessly attempting or causing bodily injury to another person.
Most assaults in Moorestown have occurred with coworkers, friends and in domestic situations where an argument gets out of control and results in a physical assault, according to Lieber. He said simple assaults are hard to prevent as they usually occur spontaneously as the result of an argument.
In addition to a spike in assaults, motor vehicle thefts increased from six in 2016 to 14 in 2017. Lieber said six of these thefts involved unlocked vehicles where the keys were left inside. Lieber stressed that residents should lock their cars and take their keys with them when exiting their vehicle.
“The majority of the unlocked vehicles were taken during other reported overnight vehicle burglaries,” Lieber said. “The burglars were looking for change [and] personal items and hit the jackpot.”
He said residents should not leave valuable items such as purses, wallets, laptops and cell phones in their cars.
Lieber said the statistics are just one of the many tools the department uses to help inform how they police.
“We use the stats as a review for long-term crime trends from year to year,” Lieber said. “We feel, though, that our continual review throughout the year allows us to proactively place law enforcement resources where they are needed most.”
