Cranford Police: 18 Car Burglaries Since Mid-March

The Cranford Police Department is working in conjunction with Westfield Police to find thieves who robbed 18 cars in Cranfod and 22 cars in Westfield since St Patrick's Day weekend.

"The most recent were the other night, Wednesday night into Thursday morning between 7:30 p.m. and 5:30 a.m.," Cranford Detective Lt. James Wozniak said.  "The Northeast section of Cranford was hit, Central Avenue, Prospect Avenue, Riverside Drive, Sylvester Street and Orange Avenue. The other incidents happened in the early evening hours of March 17-18. That area was Rodger Avenue and Keith Jefferies Avenue."

In Westfield, the majority of the incidents also occurred on March 17 and 18. Westfield Police Capt. David Wayman said the number of thefts is "unusually high," especially to have occurred within one weekend.

Several incidents took place on the 1000-block of Boulevard, on the 100 and 400-blocks of Linden Avenue, on Gallowae, on the 700-block of Oak Avenue, on Boynton Avenue, and on Winyah Avenue.

"We are following up on some leads," Wayman said. "We encourage all residents to take precautionary measures. In all cases, the cars were unlocked. Residents have to help us and take crime prevention measures. If you take away the opportunity, the crime might not have occurred. We're asking people to do their due diligence. That would go a long way to preventing the crime."

Wozniak said he could not get into specifics regarding how the two departments were working to investigate the crimes. He also urged residents to "be vigilant" especially in the evening.

If residents have any information regarding the burglaries, they are asked to call Cranford Police Headquarters at 908-272-2222, or Westfield Police Headquarters at 908-789-4000. Anyone with information about a past incident involving the break-ins is asked to contact Sgt. Costanzo at 908-789-6086 or Lt. Wozniak at the Cranford PD. 

At Tuesday evening's meeting, Westfield Mayor Andy Skibitsky urged residents not to hesitate to contact police if they witness anything they deem suspicious. Wozniak advised Cranford residents to do the same.

"As always, if you see something suspicious, call the police," Wozniak said.