Upper Saddle River Police Department : Auto theft and motor vehicle burglary continues to be an enormous issue throughout Bergen County

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Upper Saddle River NJ, This is an important crime alert from the Upper Saddle River Police Department:

During the overnight hours of the last two days, the Upper Saddle River Police Department received reports of burglaries to unlocked motor vehicles. In one instance, the suspects utilized the garage door opener in one vehicle to access the interior of the garage before being scared off by the homeowner. Auto theft and motor vehicle burglary continues to be an enormous issue throughout Bergen County. Between 2018 to the present day, the Upper Saddle River Police Department has received approximately thirty reports of motor vehicle theft and approximately thirty-five reports of burglaries to motor vehicles. These incidents resulted in four high speed pursuits with one culminating in an aggravated assault upon one of our officers, after the suspects purposely rammed his patrol car in an attempt to evade capture. During this time period, nine individuals (both adults and juveniles) were captured and arrested for offenses ranging from Motor Vehicle Theft, Eluding, Burglary and Aggravated Assault on a Police Officer.

The stolen vehicles are primarily utilized to perpetrate other crimes such as future motor vehicle thefts, burglary, and robbery. In 2020, two motor vehicles stolen from Upper Saddle River were utilized in shootings that occurred in Essex County. The overwhelming majority of the stolen vehicles are recovered days after the theft. The condition of these recovered cars runs the spectrum of undamaged to totaled. The recovered cars have even been returned with bullet holes from the aforementioned criminal activity.

It is crucial to understand that these individuals are not “joy-riders” and under no circumstances should be confronted. It is also relevant to mention that EVERY vehicle that was stolen was both unlocked and contained a key fob at the time of the theft. The Upper Saddle River Police Department investigates all motor vehicle theft incidents and works alongside a statewide Auto Theft Task Force. But this has to be a team effort. We are asking for all residents to make the conscious effort to lock their vehicles and bring your keys inside your homes. Be vigilant about this. The safety of others is at stake!