Police chief to offer crime prevention tips at Cranbury Day

[Cranbury Press]

Police chief to offer crime prevention tips at Cranbury Day
Friday, August 29, 2008 11:20 AM EDT
By Maria Prato-Gaines

CRANBURY — While a recent string of burglaries has subsided, local law enforcement plans to use Cranbury Day to organize residents to protect themselves against future break-ins.

Police Chief Ed Kahler will host a presentation on crime prevention and home security at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Cranbury School cafeteria, 23 N. Main St., as a part of the Sept. 6 Cranbury Day festivities.

He plans to discuss neighborhood watch programs, indoor and outdoor lighting, various types of locks, alarm systems and the latest security gadgets.

A question-and-answer session will follow the 20-minute discussions, he said.

”The best form of protection is knowledge,” Chief Kahler said.
Township officials asked the police to incorporate the neighborhood watch information into its presentation, after 14 homes near Route 130 were either burglarized or the targets of attempted burglaries. In many of these cases thieves entered houses, garages or sheds through unlocked windows or doors while residents were at home.

”We’re going to let people know crime watch is out there,” Chief Kahler said. “They’re acting as our eyes and ears.”

Neighborhood watch programs can vary from place to place, but their primary objectives are keeping the lines of communication open with regular meetings and block monitoring, he said.

”The best alarm system is your neighbors,” Chief Kahler said. “You know what looks out of place and suspicious.”

The Police Department has promoted neighborhood watch programs in the past, most recently discussing options with some Evans Track residents, but without much success.

”We’ve tried this before, throwing the idea out there — nothing’s ever taken off,” he said. “It’s not started by the police. It’s up to (residents) to set up the meetings and do the training.”

The Police Department’s role is to provide information and guidance to watch groups, information they have retrieved from the National Crime Prevention Council, Chief Kahler said.

This information can come in the form of handouts, training sessions or even presentations, he said. Once armed with the information, it’s up to residents to decide what type of parameters they want to set up or which guidelines work best for their area, he said.

”It’s really up to (residents) to set a definition,” he said. “If they’re sincerely interested in starting a crime watch, we’ll help them get started.”

For more information, contact the Cranbury Police Department at 609-395-0031 or for more crime watch information log onto the National Crime Prevention Council’s Web site at www.ncpc.org.

http://www.packetonline.com/articles/2008/08/29/cranbury_press/news/doc48b80efeea3fa871086879.txt

[Guest]

This is a great idea by our new police chief. See ya on saturday.

[Guest]

I heard a rumor Cranbury Day may be postponed due to the storm coming up the coast. Can anyone confirm?

[Guest]

I haven't heard that. Cranbury Day in the past has occurred in some pretty horrible weather due to the difficulty in arranging rain dates and the fact vendors are often on a circuit of fairs and flea market type events, press ads have been published and rearranging the logistics is difficult.