By Robert Hubner, Director, Woodbridge Police Department
While attending a recent event, I was approached by a resident who has been very active in Woodbridge Township for many years. He asked… “What is going on with all this crime?” His reference was to increased reports of auto theft, car burglaries and burglaries into occupied homes to steal vehicle fobs/keys.
My immediate response was to let him know that this was not just a Woodbridge Township problem, but also a statewide issue. I went on to explain how the Woodbridge Police Department (WPD) has dramatically increased marked and unmarked patrols and aggressive multijurisdictional investigations have been initiated. He then asked me why I thought this is happening, which he probably regretted by the time I was finished giving my opinion. After a 5-minute rant, what it really came down to was policies on crime. A few days after that conversation I read an article by Dave Smith, a nationally recognized law enforcement trainer, that in my opinion nailed the answer to the question “Why is crime plaguing our communities?” Smith’s article starts by saying, “Policies create crisis” and he goes on to say “Today’s policies failed in the 1960s, ‘70s, ‘80s, and halfway through the ‘90s until a new course was taken.”
I engaged in some research of my own, and sure enough, we are repeating history. In the ‘60s, it was decided by those in the “Know” that we needed to empty our prisons. During the ‘70s, crime increased to concerning levels, but we forged ahead continuing the same policies. It was not until a number of studies were completed that it was found that only one thing reduced crime… “Certainty of punishment.” Taken directly from the article by Dave Smith, “Yes, America had a high incarceration rate, but it could also be shown that the vast majority of incarcerated people were not nonviolent offenders, but rather violent offenders from whom society needed protection.” You may say, wait you started talking about car burglaries, auto theft, burglaries into homes to steal vehicle fobs, they are not violent, they are not murder or robbery. It is a fact that the same individuals who are committing those crimes use many of the stolen vehicles in shootings, robberies, murders, violent home invasions and carjackings. I cannot think of anything that has a greater potential to turn into a violent encounter than individuals breaking into your home while you sleep to steal your key fobs. We know for fact many of these criminals are armed.
In 1994, a crime bill became law and police began using James Q. Wilson’s Broken Windows Theory. In short, the Broken Windows Theory states that policing methods that address minor crimes such as criminal mischief, loitering and public drinking help create an atmosphere of order and lawfulness. Upon implementation of the new bill and Wilson’s theory, there was an immediate decrease in crime. Prisons did begin to see an increase in incarceration, but by 2005, we had the lowest crime rate in history.
And then, history repeated again with bail reform, the reemergence of soft on crime policies, and reforms that had a tremendous effect on law enforcement’s abilities to do the job…. to pursue and arrest the very individuals that commit the crimes that so greatly endanger our communities and neighborhoods. We are back in the ‘60s and crime is on the rise.
