Mahwah Drug Arrests Up 179% in 2012
The township also saw an increase in assault, weapons, theft, and burglary arrests last year
Mahwah saw a “significant” jump in its overall crime rate in 2012, and big spikes in the number of burglary, theft and drug-related arrests made in the township last year over the year before, police reported at a recent township budget hearing.
According to Chief Jim Batelli, cops made 934 arrests in Mahwah last year, a jump of 21.45% over 2011’s number. When arrest data is broken down into categories, however, Batelli said some of the crime index increases are much greater.
The number of arrests made for possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance saw the biggest jump in 2012, going up 179% from 2011, Batelli said. Other drug-related arrests, like possession of less than 50 grams, possession of drug paraphernalia, and other CDS related crimes (such as intent to distribute) also jumped – 36, 48 and 47.62%, respectively.
Though Batelli cited drug-related arrests as some of the most significant, the township saw across-the-board increases in the number of arrests for almost every crime category last year, he said. Batelli presented the following statistics to the township council:
Crime Rates 2011 vs. 2012
|
Offense |
2011 |
2012 |
% Difference |
|
Arrests |
769 |
934 |
+21.45% |
|
DWI |
106 |
113 |
+.07% |
|
Disorderly |
25 |
38 |
+52% |
|
<50 grams |
138 |
187 |
+36% |
|
Poss CDS |
28 |
78 |
+179% |
|
Drug paraphernalia |
23 |
35 |
+48% |
|
Assault |
12 |
22 |
+83.34% |
|
Criminal Mischief |
11 |
10 |
-9% |
|
Contempt |
261 |
281 |
+7.67% |
|
Theft |
34 |
36 |
+5% |
|
Other |
251 |
205 |
-18.33% |
|
Weapons |
8 |
10 |
+25% |
|
Assault |
4 |
7 |
+75% |
|
Burglary |
12 |
17 |
+41.67% |
|
Theft |
87 |
107 |
+22.99% |
|
Stolen Auto |
12 |
11 |
-8.34% |
|
CDS |
189 |
279 |
+47.62% |
Batelli said the statistics were “concerning,” and called the “increases in virtually all categories…significant.”
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Leaking Ink
9:35 am on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Just think how much all these categories are going to go up when the new mall is built. Can't wait.
Chopped Meet
11:11 am on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Must be George W Bush's fault.
Kevin
5:51 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
As I stated in the last article about the arrests going up.....The only thing I ask as a resident is that these arrests be printed in the local paper. If arrests have gone up there is no need for there to be a caption stating "No activity reported" in the paper. Whatever the reason the arrests are not printed in the blotter I hope it can be resolved so the residents can be informed as to what really is taking place in Mahwah and how important this department is to the success of this township moving forward with the growth that is planned.
Kevin
11:23 am on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
That is about 18 arrests a week or 2.5 a day.
John Sensehower
5:51 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
I would be curious to see how much of that increased drug arrest statistic reflect marijuana busts, and specifically those that occur on campus at Ramapo College.
Mahwah Resident
10:01 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Although I'm sure there are many people on campus who smoke marijuana, as there are on all college campuses, don't be so quick to lump everybody at this college into one group. I am a Ramapo college student, many of my friends are as well, none of us smoke pot. I think the college is a good thing for Mahwah, a lot of the students frequent local businesses such as restaurants. To be frank, when people smoke marijuana they don't do it on campus, it is my understanding that they hike into areas of the reservation, off trail.
Concerned Parent/Taxpayer
5:51 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
See what happens when police actually do their jobs. They get crime off the streets. Imagine how much crime was ignored when the police had their overtime taken away and ticketing went down significantly.
Concerned Parent/Taxpayer
6:52 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Let me clarify my statement. The overtime I am speaking of is the overtime they get for appearing in court for the tickets they have given out. So the logic is that when the town took away that overtime possibility then the number of tickets given out by the police dropped tremendously. Now that his overtime was given back to them, tickets have increased by 8 or 9 times the amount from last year. So, overall the overtime I am speaking of is not "crime fighting" time. As for traffic details and construction work, the costs associated with that are paid by the county or the company doing the work.
Landano
5:51 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Always doing a great job! Thank You, Mahwah Police, for keeping us safe.
Karen K
5:51 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Would be interested to know the population number for those two years. Also the percentage of arrests for Mahwah residents vs non-Mahwah residents committing a crime in Mahwah.
Mona Lot
5:51 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Why are there two assault catagories and two cds catagories?
TommyB
8:13 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Thank you for your service Mahwah PD. Keep up the good work.
Beth DeGroat
5:34 pm on Friday, March 8, 2013
Ok... Really? Just bc there's no overtime doesn't mean there's no one on duty...1st of all.. 2nd I wonder how many that are arrested or non-resident, and how many ate college kids and what kind of drugs..is it pot or much hard drugs. "concerned parent/taxpayer" is right...see what happens when the police do their jobs! Mahwah cam be a wonderful town and it's true...one the mall opens... The % is going to raise I bet you double if not tripple! It def would be interested to see how many arrests are actually Mahwah residence and their ages!
Izizbitbethdny
5:34 pm on Friday, March 8, 2013
Ok... Really? Just bc there's no overtime doesn't mean there's no one on duty...1st of all.. 2nd I wonder how many that are arrested or non-resident, and how many ate college kids and what kind of drugs..is it pot or much hard drugs. "concerned parent/taxpayer" is right...see what happens when the police do their jobs! Mahwah cam be a wonderful town and it's true...one the mall opens... The % is going to raise I bet you double if not tripple! It def would be interested to see how many arrests are actually Mahwah residence and their ages!
Lower Taxes
11:19 am on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
What's the bottom line here? Are we going to increase the pay or numbers of the PD to increase the arrest rate. To show such increases, and explain them were there more police added in that year, and was there a greater concentration on drug arrests? In absolute numbers this 179% increase represents 0.1369 arrests more per day. Or that is 50 more such arrests per annum. That 179% sounds like some great increase, but the absolute numbers aren't that much. If we caught 50 people at a party and arrested all of them for drugs, this is hardly a crime wave. To make a better analysis, we would probably need to look at detailed statistics over a period of years.