Petracco issues statement on recent burglaries in Nutley

Nutley Public Safety Director and Commissioner Alphonse Petracco has issued a statement on the recent rise in burglaries throughout New Jersey, but in particular, in Nutley.

“Due to many circumstances beyond our control, crimes such as burglary and car theft have unfortunately been dramatically rising throughout our country and state. Sadly, Nutley is not immune to this disturbing trend.

“However, I want to reassure our residents that the Nutley Police Department is implementing  several initiatives to stop and prevent these occurrences. We have added patrols, coordinated efforts with neighboring agencies and we also plan to add more officers to our streets and neighborhoods for an increased police presence. Over the past several weeks, police have arrested and charged at least five people connected with burglaries, possession of burglary tools and motor vehicle thefts.

“We will continue our efforts to safeguard our community and keep our community partners fully aware of what is occurring. We ask everyone to secure their vehicles as well as their homes and be vigilant of any suspicious activity. Do not hesitate to call the police department (973) 284-4940. Our response time is three-five minutes.

“We take our job to protect and serve personally. Nutley has always been one of the safest townships in the state, if not the country. As Public Safety Director and a lifelong Nutley resident, I promise it will remain that way.”

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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, a place where he has served on and off since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on Facebook Live, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to West Hudson to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.