It comes amid a rise in vehicle thefts, especially while the owners are home. Pat Battle reports.
Authorities in one New Jersey suburb are taking an unusual step and offering free home security assessments to residents amid a rise in vehicle thefts that most often, concernedly, occur when the owners are home.
Summit is a Union County community of some 22,000 where people move to feel safe. But that security has been shattered by a rising wave of car thefts and burglaries sweeping across the state.
While no residents have been hurt, what concerns police is that people are usually at home when the car the thieves of eyeing is sitting in the driveway, authorities say.
"Some of these suspects are willing to go in when people are home to gain access to their cars," Summit Police Capt. Ryan Peters said. "We hear the terror in their voices. It's traumatizing, you're inside the house with your family."
With easy access to Route 24 and then Route 78, it's a quick dash out of town with mostly high-end cars like BMWs and Land Rovers. And while more people have learned to keep their key fobs inside the house, some forget they have to keep them out of site, too. If a thief can see a fob through a sliding door, for example, the thief might break in for it.
Police have used social media, including a recent Facebook Live seminar, to keep residents informed.
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As a preventive measure, Summit police will soon be offering personal home security assessments to any residents who request one. Beginning March 1, one of six specially trained officers will come out and do a site inspection for free. Peters says they'll check lighting and whether the security system, including door locks, is adequate, among other factors, and then give residents a report with some suggested best practices.
