MADDY VITALE
Ocean City police are patrolling neighborhoods and looking for suspicious activity as they continue to deal with the rise in auto thefts.
Police Chief Jay Prettyman said Tuesday that police are doing all they can to stop the thefts.
“Our officers are actively patrolling our neighborhoods at night, specifically searching for suspicious cars and individuals who we can identify and hopefully thwart any future thefts,” Prettyman said.
To date, there have been 16 stolen cars on the island in 2023. All but one was taken because the doors were unlocked and the key fob was left inside, Prettyman noted.
He continues to urge owners to lock their vehicle doors, put their windows up and never leave key fobs inside.
“I cannot stress enough that residents need to lock their vehicles and take their keys inside,” he said. “If all of these vehicles would have been locked, they likely would not have been taken.”
From luxury vehicles to utilitarian ones, the thieves appear to take whatever vehicle is open and available.
“Two nights ago, we had a stolen Maserati enter town and attempt to steal a Cadillac Escalade in Merion Park, but the key fob was not in the vehicle, so the vehicle was not taken,” Prettyman said.
A little later in the night, the same group stole a Ford Raptor pickup truck from the Gardens section of town, he said.
“That vehicle also had its doors unlocked and key fob inside and appears to have gone to Newark,” he said.
The chief has a good idea about who is doing the stealing, too.
“We believe we have three groups of kids stealing cars,” he said.
One group is from Egg Harbor Township, another from Galloway Township and another group is from Atlantic City.
The group from Egg Harbor Township and Galloway Township took three cars last week from Ocean City, Prettyman said.
The vehicles were a BMW, a Kia, and a Jeep Wagoneer.
“The kids entered town in a stolen vehicle and left it when they stole the other cars. We recovered that vehicle the same night. All of these cars had their doors unlocked and key fobs inside,” Prettyman said.
The BMW and Kia were recovered in the Egg Harbor Township/Galloway areas, he said. The key fob for the Jeep Wagoneer was inside one of the other stolen cars, but police are still searching for that vehicle.
There is also a Newark-based auto-theft ring that has hit Ocean City.
On Sept. 21, Ocean City was targeted by the Newark-based theft ring when three high-end vehicles – two Mercedes G Wagons and an Audi S5 – were stolen from homes in the affluent Riviera neighborhood.
Authorities say that the luxury vehicles stolen in New Jersey are often shipped overseas by auto theft rings through the Port of Newark or are used by gangs in drive-by shootings.
Statistics released by the city earlier this month, show that auto thefts jumped in 2022 and continue to rise in 2023. There were six stolen cars in 2018 and five in 2019. The number increased to 12 in 2020, but fell to just four in 2021. For 2022, the number of stolen cars climbed to 14.
This is not only an Ocean City problem, but a problem for other shore towns. Ocean City police said in September that Avalon, Stone Harbor, Atlantic City, Margate and Ventnor are among the shore communities that have been hit by auto theft rings.
There have been instances when Ocean City police have had to halt their vehicle pursuits for the safety of the community.
“We have been involved in motor vehicle pursuits with stolen vehicles leaving town that have reached speeds of 100 miles per hour, but due to population and safety concerns we have been forced to terminate those pursuits,” Prettyman said. “We have also used technology to track the suspects and locate the stolen cars to the best of our ability.”
These are not crimes limited to shore towns, Prettyman emphasized.
“I also need to point out that this is a statewide epidemic,” he said.
From July 31 to Aug. 6 of 2023, there were 314 stolen vehicles, four carjackings and 151 recovered vehicles throughout the state, he noted.
In July, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a package of bills that stiffen the penalties for auto theft. The legislation targets the leaders of car theft rings and repeat offenders.
But tougher laws don’t always translate to successful apprehension and prosecution of those committing the crimes, Prettyman said.
“We charged multiple juveniles with the thefts of the cars last week, but they refused to speak to us, and a judge refused to allow us to detain them in a juvenile detention room facility, so they have been released,” he said. “We are also working with other local police departments, the New Jersey State Police and the New Jersey Auto Theft Task Force, doing our absolute best to deal with this issue.”
