Snow Emergency is in effect January 23 - 24

CANCELED Jan 24 1630 Hours

ALERT: SNOW EMERGENCY ISSUED 

The National Weather Service has issued a WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY from midnight through 6 PM on Saturday, January 24.

The system will bring a mixture of snow (3-5 inches possible), sleet and freezing rain. There exists the possibility of 1/10 inch of ice accumulation. Visibility will also be affected with 1/2 mile or less in snow, mainly in the morning hours. Heaviest snow is predicted to fall Saturday morning through the afternoon. Hazardous conditions will exist due to visibility and snow/ice covered roads.

(Issued by The National Weather Service New York City, NY)

Based on the storm prediction, which includes heavy, wet, snow and ice, the Borough of Bergenfield will have a SNOW EMERGENCY IN EFFECT for Friday, January 23 through Saturday, January 24.

NO OVERNIGHT PARKING WILL BE AUTHORIZED with the SNOW EMERGENCY being in effect.

The Bergenfield Police will enforce the no parking ban under the snow emergency under section D of Ordinance 299-12. This states that the snow emergency remains in effect until the streets have been plowed sufficiently and to the extent that parking will not interfere with the normal flow of traffic.

Department of Public Works personnel are prepared for the storm and will handle salting and plowing of the roadways. Officers will have the authority to tow any vehicle that is abandoned and interfering with traffic flow or the clearing of snow from the roadways.

The snow emergency will remain in effect until further notice which shall include until after the snow has ceased or until the streets have been plowed sufficiently and to the extent that parking will not interfere with the normal flow of traffic.

Borough Ordinance 299-12. Snow emergency.

A. A snow emergency shall exist whenever snow has fallen and the accumulation is such that it covers the street or highway. In addition to this, when weather conditions cause a state or condition of the street that is hazardous or dangerous to vehicular or pedestrian traffic even if the entire street or highway is not covered by snow shall constitute a snow emergency when declared by the Chief of Police, or in his absence, the ranking police officer in charge.

B. Definition: As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

SNOW: Any precipitation depositing any accumulation and shall be deemed to include snow, sleet, hail, ice, freezing rain or any combination thereof.

SNOW TIRES: Tires with or without studs and having treads designed for use in the snow which tread shall be of sufficient depth to accomplish the purpose for which the tire was designed.

C. Snow emergency declared. Upon the occurrence of a snow emergency as hereinabove defined, the Chief of Police, or in his absence, the ranking police officer shall have the authority to declare such an emergency. Within one hour after such a declaration, no person shall cause, permit, allow or suffer any vehicle owned or driven by him to become stalled or immobile on any portion of any street in the Borough of Bergenfield because of the failure of the vehicle to be equipped with snow tires or chains. The Chief of Police or the ranking officer shall immediately inform the public of said snow emergency by issuing a press release to the local and metropolitan radio, television and news services.

D. Snow emergency routes. All streets of the Borough of Bergenfield are snow emergency routes upon which no parking shall be allowed during a snow emergency, and such parking prohibition, shall remain in effect until after the snow has ceased or until the streets have been plowed sufficiently and to the extent that parking will not interfere with the normal flow of traffic or until otherwise terminated by the Chief of Police, or in his absence, the ranking officer, in the same manner as declared in above.

Residential burglary on Highgate Terrace December 3

On December 3, at approximately 10:40 AM, the Bergenfield Police Communications Center received a 911 call reporting a “break in” of a single-family home on Highgate Terrace. The resident was inside the home when the intruder entered, similar to the burglary that occurred around the corner on Norfolk Street on December 2. Once confronted by the resident, the suspect fled out the front door of the home and ran in an unknown direction on Highgate Terrace. Responding patrol units set up a perimeter in the area and officers were assisted by the Bergen County Police K-9 Unit in searching area yards and streets. Bergenfield officers were also assisted by Teaneck and New Milford police departments during this search. No suspect was located, but the search continued into Teaneck where another residential burglary was being investigated. 

The suspect was described as a dark-skinned male, unknown age, between 5’5” – 5’7” in height, wearing a dark colored or navy blue jacket, with an unknown type patch or emblem on the arm of the jacket, and dark colored or navy blue pants. Detectives also responded to the scene and are working on several leads at this time. They are coordinating with detectives from the Teaneck Police Department to compare evidence and leads.

The Bergenfield Police want to remind residents to be alert to any suspicious activity in your neighborhoods. Do not feel you are burdening the police by making a phone call about a suspicious vehicle parked in or driving through your area. If something or someone seems to strike you as odd or peculiar, make the call. It could turn out to be a benign incident, but it could also prevent a crime from occurring or solve one that already has occurred.

This time of the year in particular, burglars, who are opportunists, will take advantage of residents who are away or are simply out of their homes for shopping or other seasonal events. They will seek out a residence that appears unoccupied by looking for a lack of vehicles in the driveway, newspapers piling up, a lack of illuminated exterior or interior lights and mail accumulating in the mailbox.

Residents can do things to make your homes look occupied such as using timers on lights, contacting the newspaper or post office to stop delivery while you are away or even by having another neighbor bring these items in you.

Although you might think that burglars strike only at night, statistics show that the majority of burglaries occur between 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM. These are the times that people are not home because they are at work or school, making the homes unoccupied for a good portion of the day. Even more so is the fact that with a sunset occurring at 4:30 PM, when many people are still not home, it gives that cover of darkness for a burglar wanting to break in.

The two cases just reported here in Bergenfield occurred at 1:30 PM and 10:30 AM. So, you can see that the times of day can vary. It is important to form good neighborhood relationships so people can watch out for each other, especially with varying hours of them being home and away. The neighborhood watch is the extra set of eyes, ears and intuition of the police department.

Here are some helpful tips for residents regarding making their homes and neighborhoods safer:

• Install an alarm system. Or, put up an alarm sign on your home or property to make the burglar believe there may be an alarm that can activate. 
• Before leaving, check and lock all windows and doors, even for short periods of being out of your home. Consider installing deadbolt locks.
• Install motion sensor lighting on the home exterior.
• Use timer lights for interior lighting.
• Keep trees and bushes trimmed and away from doors and windows.
• Consider securing valuables such as jewelry, especially ones with sentimental value, out of your master bedroom while you are away. Burglars routinely make the master bedroom of any home their first stop looking for items to steal.

Residents should be aware that these recent burglary cases have some similar patterns. In both our cases, the burglars went to the front doors of the homes and rang the doorbell. With no answer, they then went to the rear of the home and knocked at that door. This is a typical pattern whereby the burglar can pretend to be at the wrong address if someone should answer the door at the residence. Residents are reminded that if they experience this type of “wrong address” incident, they should get a description of the person and watch the direction the person leaves in. Do not feel you are imposing by calling the police department to check on this. As stated before, it could turn out to be something.

Bergenfield Police officers have heightened their patrols, in particular, to the southwest sector of the borough, due to the recent two burglary cases. One case resulted in the arrest of two men and both are incarcerated at this time. With the new incident today, it shows there are others out there and residents must remain vigilant to help the police prevent and solve crimes such as this. We urge you to report any suspicious activity and be a part of the efforts at crime prevention in your neighborhood.

If anyone has any leads, tips or information on today’s burglary, please contact the Bergenfield Police at 201-387-4000. In particular, if any residents have or know of a resident that has an exterior home video surveillance system in the areas of Highgate Terrace, Westminster Avenue, South Prospect Avenue, Briarcliffe Road, Churchill Road in Teaneck, or any streets in that area, we ask that you have them check for any suspicious persons or activity that might have been captured during the time of 9:30 AM and 11:00 AM on December 3. If so, please contact the police department.

Chief Michael T. Carr

Arrest made in residential burglary December 2

On December 2, at approximately 1:06 PM, the Bergenfield Police Communications Center received a 911 call reporting a "break in" of a single family home on Norfolk Street. The caller, who was inside the residence at the time, reported a male had forcibly entered the home through the front door. The man then fled on foot onto Norfolk Street when confronted by the resident. 

Workers from a PSE&G utility crew in the area observed the male running and then enter a vehicle being operated by a second male. The utility workers suspected something suspicious had occurred. They provided a description of the males and the vehicle to responding patrol officers, who then advised police communications who in return relayed the information, via radio, to other surrounding jurisdictions.

Teaneck Police officers stopped a vehicle matching the description on Forest Avenue in their

town. Both the driver and occupant were detained by officers from Bergenfield and Teaneck, while further investigation took place. The two males were identified by witnesses and then placed under arrest.  Both were transported to Bergenfield Police headquarters, where they were formally processed and charged with the following:

1. Christopher Thompson, age 45, of Bergenfield, NJ 
Burglary and Criminal Attempt Theft

Bail $70,000, 10% allowed 

2. Richard Allen, age 53, of Teaneck, NJ
Complicity (Accomplice/Aiding another) to commit Burglary and Theft

Bail $70,000, 10% allowed

Neither of the defendants was able to post bond and both were remanded to the Bergen County Jail in lieu of bail.

Information regarding suspicious incidents reported in Bergenfield

The Bergenfield Police Department is releasing this information to keep our residents informed of suspicious incidents that were reported to us as “lurings” and have parents and children concerned for their safety. We want our residents to know that every incident is thoroughly investigated and taken seriously. I refer to these incidents as “suspicious” because the majority reported do not have the elements of the offense of Luring (NJSA 2C:13-6). 

See the link below for additional legal information.

https://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/criminal/charges/luring1.pdf

If the elements are not present as reported by the complainant, victim or witness, BPD officers will still investigate and turn the matter over to the detective bureau for follow up. Many cases have been resolved, whereby the matter was not a luring incident, but rather a motorist attempting to ask directions or in some cases, the report was fabricated by the juvenile victim/complainant. I emphasize that every case is fully investigated and when facts of the case meet the elements of the offense, the detectives waste no time in getting the information out via a media release and using our social media communication tools. 

Detectives also contact school authorities in an effort to inform as many people as possible and allow school officials to also disseminate information about the incident or incidents. In some cases that are suspicious and the motive is unknown, notifications will still be sent out seeking information so the matter can be properly investigated. Detectives also work in conjunction with surrounding police agencies and the Prosecutor’s Office to compare cases looking for any similarities. 

At this time, there have been cases reported in Bergen County, but there are no similarities in person or vehicle descriptions. Even though no similarities exist yet, the BPD requests residents to remain vigilant in their neighborhoods and when driving about the borough. If you see something suspicious or your child reports something suspicious, please contact the BPD to report it. We will investigate as I stated above. The police department does not want to alarm the community that a “child lurer” is about when no facts exist or can be corroborated. We do want people to trust that we will inform them when suspicious incidents occur and we will be quick to release information when an incident is confirmed. 

Our recent suspicious incidents are posted on our website at http://www.bergenfieldpd.org/

We have articles and media releases also posted on our blog at http://bergenfieldnjpd.blogspot.com/.

Below is great information as taken from a recent NIXLE alert sent by our neighboring township, Teaneck. I share these bullets with you as they are great tips to teach and follow:

• Parents are also urged to speak to their children about their safety whether they are in a vehicle or on foot.

• Teach your child, when s/he is outside, to always walk with at least one other person. Groups of more than two are better.

• When your child is outside the house, do not allow him or her to wear clothing or a backpack or other articles with his/her name visible on it. Children are more likely to trust someone who calls them by name.

• Teach your child to stay more than an adult arm’s length away from any car that is occupied by a person trying to talk to him/her, so that they cannot be reached by the person inside the car.

• Teach your child if someone encourages him or her to get into a car, to help find a lost pet, or to leave with them for any reason, s/he should yell “NO” as loudly as possible and run to the  closest adult whom they know and trust. Yelling "No," also called the POWER NO, indicates your child has been prepared for the situation.

• Teach your child to run in the opposite direction from the one the car is facing. It is harder to drive in reverse than straight ahead.

• Teach your child their full name, address and if, there is one, the “best” phone number (including area code) to call in case of an emergency. If you make it into a song, younger children may be more likely to remember it. If no phone number is reliable, teach your child to call 911 for help.

• Teach your older child to pay attention to the color and make of the vehicle and/or its license information (state and number), the physical characteristics of the person(s), and where s/he was when approached. Suggest that this information be written down as soon as it can be done safely.

• Remind your child to call 911 to report any attempted luring.

• Make a daily note of the clothing your child is wearing just in case you need to provide that information later. Also keep a current school picture, or other recent photograph of your child available.

"The police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence."

- Robert Peel

Thank you for being part of the efforts to keep our community safe. Be a crime stopper and report crimes and suspicious activity.

Please note, Tri-Community Crime Stoppers is now on Facebook.

You can also find BPD on Twitter, Facebook and receive notifications from us by signing up for Nixle.

Sincerely,

Michael T. Carr

Chief of Police

Bergen County residents warned to be wary of jury duty phone scam

The Bergen County Sheriff's Office released the following information today in an effort to warn residents of a recent scam that has come to the attention of the BCSO. Authorities warn residents to be wary of a "jury duty phone scam" being reported in Bergen County. Please read the following and share with family and friends.

The Bergen County Sheriff’s Office has received numerous complaints from Bergen County residents with regards to a jury duty phone scam. The individuals perpetrating this fraud, claim to be members of the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office and accuse residents that they have missed jury duty and that there is a warrant for their arrest. The individuals posing as Sheriff’s Office employees tell residents that in lieu of being arrested, they must provide a credit card number and/or prepaid debit card to pay a fine. Once the fine is paid, the warrant (which is fictitious) will be lifted. For example, on one occasion last week, the caller instructed the victim to transfer money using prepaid debit cards such as Green Dot Money-Pak to wire the money. 

The individuals whom are committing this fraud are utilizing pre-paid cell phones with a “201” area code designation to appear as if they are from the Bergen County area. This juror fraud is not isolated to Bergen County. It has occurred in neighboring counties as well as other states. 

“If a government agency is to contact you via phone, it will be done utilizing a bona fide publicized government phone number” said Sheriff Michael Saudino. “All notices regarding jury duty come through the mail, including summonses to report for jury duty, and failure to report for jury duty.  These notices are mailed directly from the New Jersey Judiciary Jury Management Office and give you specific information on who to contact, and how to comply with the summons.” 

The Bergen County Sheriff’s Office and local police departments are aware of this matter and are currently investigating it. Sheriff Saudino advises Bergen County residents that “You should not give out any personal information or identification over the phone, and are advised not transfer any money using prepaid debit cards on behalf of a government agency.  If you are being asked for your personal information from an unsolicited phone number, hang up immediately and notify your local authorities.”

 “No Government agency will tell you to make payments to them through a bank or wire transfer.   It is incumbent on all residents to be alert and it does not hurt to take the time to verify these incidents with us,” says Sheriff Saudino.

Anyone who believes they may also have been exposed to this or a similar type fraud is asked to contact either the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office at 201-646-2222, www.bergentip.com, or your local police department. 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding jury duty, please refer to the Bergen County Superior Court Jury Management Office at www.judiciary.state.nj.us/juryreporting/bergen, or contact the jury office at 201-527-2290.

Help support the Tri-Community Crime Stoppers

The Tri-Community Crime Stoppers is a community-based program, composed of volunteers and local law enforcement members from Bergenfield, Hackensack and Teaneck, working together to help solve crimes. The group offers cash rewards to citizens who provide information to police that leads to the arrest of an offender or offenders. Cash rewards of up to $1,000 are possible and all citizens who offer such information are guaranteed anonymity. The Tri-Community Crime Stoppers have had more than 700 arrests and convictions as the result of anonymous tips provided by citizens.

The Tri-Community Crime Stoppers works in cooperation with local law enforcement and is a vital part of police efforts to keep the community safe and solve crimes. The board includes participation from local businesses and volunteers in Bergenfield, Hackensack and Teaneck. The success of the program relies on donations from the community and the volunteer support of its members. 

Members of the Tri-Community Crime Stoppers meet once a month. The group seeks to expand its membership as well as increase its financial support so that it may continue to issue rewards for tips.

To help support the Tri-Community Crime Stoppers, members of the community can mail a 100% tax deductible donation to the program. Donations will help the program continue to award informants for providing information that helps police make arrests in our communities.

Mail your donation to:
Crime Stoppers
PO Box 5072
Bergenfield, NJ 07621

Have a tip for police regarding a crime? Call the appropriate tip line to share your information anonymously.

Bergenfield - 201-384-4222
Hackensack - 201-488-4222
Teaneck - 201-833-4222

Interested in being a member? Send a direct message to the group at the Tri-Community Crime Stoppers Facebook page with your contact information. The group can be found on Facebook at facebook.com/tricommunitycrimestoppers.
 

Suspicious Incident - Possible Luring

Suspicious Vehicle-Luring
 

On February 19, a 13-year-old female reported being followed by black, four-door SUV, operated by white male with orange-colored hair and same color mustache, between 30-35 years of age. The incident occurred on February 18 between 5:30 and 6 pm in the area of S. Summit and S. Taylor streets. The car operator approached the female while in the vehicle and asked if she wanted a ride. He is also reported to have circled around onto S. Woodside Ave.  Anyone with information on this incident is urged to call the Bergenfield Police Department at 201-387-4000. Tri-Community Crime-Stoppers is offering a reward for information that leads to an arrest. The case will be investigated further. Any additional details on the incident will be released when available.

Stay connected during emergencies with Nixle

Recent messages sent to Bergenfield residents using Nixle.

As we posted earlier this month, September is National Preparedness Month. The severe weather that has hit our area in the last several years has given new meaning to being prepared. We all know too well that being prepared to survive for several days without power and being unable to get gas and supplies in local stores is a reality. 

One of the best ways to be prepared for a storm is to take advantage of ways to stay connected to local emergency services. One of the greatest tools we have to reach residents with alerts and advisories - particularly during times of an emergency - is Nixle.

Register by filling out the box like this on the right side of our blog.

Nixle is a communication system that connects residents with the agencies that serve and protect them.

Residents can use Nixle to receive information ranging from critical alerts to community news. Additionally, residents can choose how they receive the information - by SMS (text message) email, over the web or by mobile applications.

Before, during and after the severe storms that have hit our area in recent years, the Borough of Bergenfield Administration, Office of Emergency Management and we at the police department, sent out multiple alerts and advisory messages regarding road/traffic conditions, storm updates and other information to keep residents up-to-date. Even when power is lost, those with cellular phones can still receive text messages. Additionally, in situations unlike a hurricane or similar event, Nixle is utilized to alert residents of other events, situations or important information.

For more information, visit Nixle.com. Also, you can register here, right now, with the convenient sign-up box located on the right-hand side of our blog.

In addition to Nixle, make sure to take advantage of the other forms of communication we use to reach out to residents during emergencies. Follow us on Twitter, Like Us on Facebook and check this blog for updates, alerts, advisories and other police-related information.