CHATHAM, NJ — Members of the Chatham Police Department discussed the increase in auto thefts in town during a presentation by Lt. Brad Hayworth, and then answered questions from residents during a public safety forum on Tuesday night.

Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill also attended and spoke at the event.

Sherrill stated that she was seeking federal funds for the district to improve the district's ability to alert Chatham Township Police of stolen vehicles within the township in real time using License Plate Readers.

"We are also in the process and hopefully going to get a federal grant that will allow these cameras to alert our police officers in real-time when something bad occurs, when a bad guy comes into town, so they can preempt it," Chatham Township Mayor Ashley Felice said.

"They are cameras that can recognize a license plate as a license plate… It takes video every time a license plate passes through an intersection and it parses that information into digits and becomes a number that computers can work with. Those numbers can be used to compare to lists of stolen vehicles," Hayworth said.

The township currently has a license plate reading system in place, but according to Hayworth, the current system is slow and has to go through multiple stops before reaching the police.

"What we are hoping to get to… is to have it automated, so that if a stolen car enters Chatham Township and passes through a license plate reader, it would send an instant alert to every car that is on the road working saying 'a stolen car just entered the Township at such and such road' so now the officers can flood that area," Hayworth said.

During a presentation, Hayworth stated that there were nine auto thefts and 17 attempted thefts in Chatham Township in 2021. Only three vehicles were stolen in 2022, but there were 16 attempted thefts.

According to Chatham officials, juveniles arrested for auto theft and other crimes in Chatham Township cannot be charged criminally.

Sens. Richard Codey (D-27) and Anthony Bucco (D-25) held a news conference earlier this month to crack down on ringleaders, citing an alarming increase in stolen vehicles carried out by auto theft rings that recruit children and teenagers to help pull off their heists.

The Chatham Township Police Department once again advised residents to lock their vehicles and remove all valuables, key fobs, and garage door openers from their vehicles when they arrive home and store them inside their homes.

"We're not trying to 'victim shame', but 99% of victims leave their door unlocked. No criminal today knows how to hot wire a car," Chatham Township Sgt. Muta Blanford said.

"We are well aware of the situation and it is scary, it really is. Public safety has been the No. 1 priority of this committee," Felice said.

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