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Local and county law enforcement are devoting more resources to stopping the bandits, who are often from out of the area. But they can’t be everywhere at once.
More owners need to lock their vehicles and take their key fobs, they say, or things will only get worse.
Think of it this way: Imagine your unlocked vehicle is stolen, is involved in a pursuit and slams into another car. Imagine someone is killed in the crash -- possibly a child. How would you feel?
A total of 439 high-end vehicles were stolen in Bergen County alone in 2021, Glen Rock Police Chief Dean Ackermann said on Monday, Jan. 31.
Those numbers have begun to skyrocket, police throughout North Jersey say.
Now and then a thief or burglar will smash a locked vehicle window, but that's become increasingly rare. The overwhelming majority just move on to the next target, police say.
Fort Lee police posted a home security video showing how it's done: A crew pulls up to a victim's house in a suspected stolen car in broad daylight. Three passengers hustle out and test door handles. One of them is a winner.
All in under half a minute.
The loser: the owner who left the key fob in the unlocked SUV and didn't find it missing until hours later.
Following a report of a suspicious incident in Glen Rock this past weekend, officers canvassed the area and found footprints in the snow leading to vehicles parked in several driveways.
“(Those) that were locked were not damaged or entered,” Ackermann said. “Five vehicles, which were left unlocked, were entered and rummaged through."
The same thing happened earlier this month when a Wyckoff resident reported her unlocked 2021 Mercedes snatched from her driveway around 7 p.m. with her purse and key fob inside.
Last week, Paramus police chased down two of four suspects who bailed from a Range Rover on Route 17 and scattered after a brief pursuit ended in a crash. The Range Rover had been reported stolen out of Elmwood Park after being left unlocked earlier in the day, authorities said.
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“These crimes appear to involve criminal groups from Newark using previously stolen cars to travel to our community in search of unlocked vehicles with keys or fobs left inside,” Tenafly Capt. Michael deMoncada said.
“While home surveillance cameras may deter some thieves, they are not guaranteed to prevent crimes,” the captain added. “To prevent identification, thieves obscure their face or rely on the fact that most cameras do not have high-enough resolution to capture accurate facial features at a distance, especially under low-light conditions.”
Earlier this month, a would-be thief climbed out of a Range Rover on a darkened Glen Rock street but quickly jumped back in when the owner came running. Police briefly pursued the Range Rover, which was being followed by a speeding BMW SUV, Ackermann said.
Computer checks showed the Range Rover had been reported stolen out of Lodi and the BMW out of Ridgewood, he said.
The officer ended up pulling back, however, due to state Attorney General guidelines that took effect Jan. 1 severely limiting such chases, the chief said.
High-ranking police officers in various towns have requested news stories aimed at reducing the numbers of potential victims. Such stories are published on a regular basis. Yet the number of incidents is higher than it's ever been.
“The common denominator is that these vehicles are left unlocked,” Ackermann said.
Whose fault is that?
Ackermann joined other area chiefs in “strongly” encouraging citizens to “lock your vehicle, lock your house, lock your garage, lock your shed, do not leave valuables visible inside your vehicle and never ever leave your key fob in your vehicle.”
Citizens have assisted police by promptly reporting incidents and providing home security footage, he noted.
Anyone who sees someone or something suspicious should not think twice -- dial 911 right away, the chief said.
And if you catch someone trying to enter your own vehicle, “do not confront them,” he added. "Call police immediately."
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