Ocean Grove Neighborhood Watch reports five more bicycle thefts this past week. All five bikes had been left unlocked, police said.
Two of the thefts were in the area between Mt. Pisgah Way and Mt. Tabor Way, and the other three were in the area between Broadway and Cookman Avenue.
The report also took note of the numerous thefts, in recent weeks, of lawn decorations in the area between Heck Avenue and Stockton Avenue. To read our previous story on those thefts, click here.
Also noted was the incident in the area of Mt. Zion Way at New York Avenue, in which a man entered a house late at night while the residents were at home and up and awake. For details on that, go here.
And finally, NW reports that a vehicle was vandalized in the area of 120 Cookman Avenue.
— CL
I’m not sure if this idea is really sound, but what if someone here left a bike unlocked and watched it, maybe even with cameras, I don’t know, and when someone comes to steal it you follow them and call the police… Is that legal? Just a thought.
Also, I wonder if the same people come here to steal bikes (and other things) or if it’s all just random. Is Ocean Grove an in-the-know place for people to go and steal from?
The police do not care about low level property crime. Perhaps the head of OGHOA should call up Randy B. and ask for his help in energizing the police to get meaningfully involved. We need a police “surge” for a few weeks to shut down this crime wave.
Police — where are you?
A couple of weeks ago it was reported in the Coaster that a bike was stolen in A.P. to police; within 24 hours they had acted on the description of the bike and they found the bike and the person who had stolen it.
In Neptune there are more important things than finding bikes. One Saturday night while on patrol for the Citizens Patrol, we had found 2 bikes in the street within a block of each other. We reported to base the finding and waited for police to come and collect the bikes. Two hours later, after no response from the police, we had to bring them by Thornley Chapel to the police sub station.
Just let me add with regard to household issues….big dog, big bark, sharp teeth. Works great but be prepared for the food costs. My dog is your best friend on the street, your worst nightmare if you come uninvited to my home.
If there are no arrests, no proactive policing, no detectives investigating, no convictions with significant jail time, no response other than busines as usual patrolling (in cars) — then why would criminals not come out of the woodwork to target our town? I’m sure OG is earning a reputation as a place where there is little or no chance of getting caught and easy pickings. Let’s face it, we are on our own unless there is a murder or some other significant violent crime.
I heard that last night a car was stolen south of Main Ave and other cars broken into today!
To my knowledge, the police have never done a petty-theft related sting operation in Ocean Grove. The notion has been raised at least a dozen times on this blog over the past two years. There seems to be no interest in pursuing it by the police, and the OGHOA and CMA are not pushing the notion. Our elected officials are invisible on this issue too. Proactive law enforcement (vs. the weakly reactive flavor we now get) is apparently an unknown concept to those in power.
I am very confident that if they did a bike sting, and left a snazzy high-value bike in a high visibility spot unlocked — like the boardwalk on the AP side of the Pavilion, or in Founder’s Park, or on Mt. Tabor — it would be taken within two hours. The real issue is that the police do not consider petty theft worth pursuing — using the worn excuse that there is more serious crime in other parts of Neptune. Even if the police did make an arrest of someone red-handed, the weak and ineffective judges we have in Neptune and Monmouth County will not mete out any meaningful punishment (e.g., prison time). Look at the non-punishment of the stone throwing vandals as but one example (no punishment other than paying for actual damages done).
The alternative to the police being proactive is to improve the effectiveness of their reactive approach. If the police simply installed security cams at all exits of the town, 10 cameras in total, I believe, we would have photographs of many of the thieves. NYC has security cams on most street corners. Surely we could get 10 for our whole town. OG probably contributes at least $8 million in taxes to Neptune, you would think they could invest a tiny fraction of 1% of that in some cameras.
It seems the half life of a unlocked bike is a few hours. Shouldn’t be too difficult to catch given the police know the preferred bait. Of course that assumes they actually put in the effort to stop this stuff.
Not to make light of recent incidents, but to share that it is not so new:
When I spent summers in Ocean Grove as a child (1950s), we always had to make sure that the back door was latched if we were on the front porch or in the front of the house.
Apparently, during my grandmother’s time (1900s-1920s), they had left the back door open while on the porch and discovered a “gypsy” picking through their belongings in the back of the house.
I never heard what happened to the gypsy, but I always make sure the back screen door is latched if I am nearby, or the “real” door locked.
I know I’m being redundant — but people, don’t leave things “unlocked” or doors open. It only makes it easier for the creeps. I know people will take what is not theirs, and you can’t lock everything up, and I sure do wish it was different. However, it’s not. Be aware of your property, anyone “strange” hanging around, keep an eye out for your neighbor. Flood lights and motion detectors are a good idea also.