Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Police are warning residents of five recent reports of a man persistently begging for money from women sitting in their cars at local shopping centers
Mahwah Police are warning local residents to look out for a man who has reportedly approached five different women in area shopping centers over the past two-and-a-half weeks begging for money. Though police say the man has not committed any crimes, his behavior is “alarming…not normal [and] concerning to law enforcement authorities,” Police Chief Jim Batelli said Tuesday. Police issued a warning Tuesday alerting residents to the man, who was described as “an African American, mid 30s, tall, wearing a business suit with a striped tie, a long goatee and short hair,” Batelli said. The man will typically approach women sitting in their cars in local shopping centers, knock on the window, and persistently ask for money to help him get home to …
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
NJ Spotlight has created an interactive map of 2011 crime rates in New Jersey.
- POLICE & FIRE
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Wednesday, December 26, 2012
NJ Spotlight has created an interactive map using the recently released 2011 Uniform Crime Report that plots the total crime rate per 1,000 people for seven index crimes (four violent -- murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault -- and three non-violent -- burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft). According to NJSP Crime Reports, the township's crime rate remained flat in 2011, after dropping in 2010. Year Total # of Mahwah Crimes # of Violent Crimes # of Nonviolent Crimes 2011 110 3 107 2010 109 3 106 2009 154 6 148 2008 202 7 195 2007 145 10 135 Mahwah’s crime rate was lower than in many surrounding towns, and in many municipalities across the state. Check out the interactive map to see how the crime rates in municipalities across …
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Police say they have notified the school district of the situation involving a 13-year-old Mahwah boy
One week after sensitivity to gun violence was heightened across the country because of an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, police picked up a 13-year-old Mahwah boy wearing a camouflage outfit and carrying a fake rifle. According to police, the boy was walking through a wooded area Friday afternoon at the corner of Macarthur Blvd. and Ridge Road, which houses four of the township’s six schools. According to Police Chief Jim Batelli, a Ridge Road resident called police after seeing a boy walking in the area wearing the bottom piece of a camouflage suit and carting a large satchel. When police found the boy in a wooded area near a business complex on Ridge Road, he was wearing the bottom half of a Ghillie suit, a “…
Friday, December 21, 2012
Updated: Police identify man, who they say may have been high on narcotics during the incident
A man wearing only underwear was arrested outside a Polo Club home in Mahwah Friday morning after apparently trying to break into the home by throwing a large rock through one of its glass doors, Mahwah Police said Friday afternoon. The homeowner of a “very large home” on Halifax Road called police at about 10:46 a.m. Friday morning to report a loud noise in the first floor of her home that she thought was either a gunshot or breaking glass, Chief Jim Batelli said. When responding officers found no intruders in the home, Mahwah Captain Stephen Jaffe started “checking the perimeter of an adjacent house,” Batelli said. “Captain Jaffe was approached by an individual who had bloody hands, apparently from the broken glass. They had a brief …
A look at where one of the year's top news-makers is now
2012 saw its fair share of interesting Patch news stories in Mahwah. One that garnered a lot of attention – the dispute between two Rio Vista residents over 221 chopped down trees. In February, Mahwah resident Don Cantow accused his neighbor, Jay Patel, of illegally cutting down 221 trees on Cantow’s property to get a better view of the Ramapo Mountains. Patel was criminally charged in February for allegedly chopping the $1M worth of trees. Patel was criminally charged later that month. According to Cantow’s attorney Arthur Chagaris, there hasn’t been much progress in the case since it hit the headlines almost a year ago. “We did not settle,” he told Patch in a phone interview this week. “This is still being investigated by the Bergen …
Friday, November 30, 2012
Only 5% of law enforcement agencies in the country achieve the national standard. The Mahwah Police Department was just awarded its fourth consecutive accreditation.
For the fourth time, the Mahwah Police Department has achieved national accreditation, Chief James Batelli announced in a release Thursday. The PD had to meet over 400 performance standards in order to qualify for the recognition, which was granted at the winter meeting of the CALEA Commission, Batelli said. Developed in 1984, the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, or CALEA, outlines international standards for law enforcement agencies of different types and sizes. If an agency can prove during a review process that it is in compliance with all of the standards, it becomes an “accredited” agency. The Mahwah PD was first accredited in 2003, then again in 2006 and 2009. This year’s accreditation renewal will last …
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
The traffic light at the corner of Macarthur Boulevard and Ridge Road was damaged during Hurricane Sandy
One of the many victims of Hurricane Sandy was a traffic light at the corner of Macarthur Blvd. and Ridge Rd., and according to township officials, the temporary four-way stop system set up at the busy intersection may be here for a while. Police believe an electrical surge during the storm took out the light. Officials say there are many lights out throughout Bergen County for the same reason. “We have placed an order for a new [light from an electrical vendor], but because of the number of orders they are receiving they do not have an expected delivery date for us,” Police Chief Jim Batelli said this week. “We are pressing the vendor to deliver the traffic controller as soon as possible, but unfortunately every other jurisdiction that …
Monday, November 12, 2012
Police say they are still investigating the cause of last week's fire, but renovation work is no longer believed to be the culprit
A fire that destroyed six condominium units in the Society Hill complex off Ridge Road last Wednesday may have started as an electrical fire, Mahwah Police Chief Jim Batelli said Monday. Police believe the fire was started accidentally, he said. “We no longer believe the fire started as a result of any renovation work that was ongoing in either of the two empty units,” as was considered after initial investigations last week, Batelli said. “We believe that cause of the fire was electrical in nature,” he said, declining to elaborate. Police confirmed the fire is not being investigated as a suspicious fire, but said the investigation into what started the blaze is still ongoing. A large fire Friday ripped through a 16-unit block on Sassafras…
Monday, October 29, 2012
DPW worker was suspended over the summer after cursing at Mahwah police chief
Friday, October 26, 2012
What residents need to know about getting ready for Hurricane Sandy
In advance of Hurricane Sandy, which experts say could hit Mahwah Monday, the township has activated a preparation plan that includes a new text message alert system for residents and increased staffing and preparations at the police department, fire department, Department of Public Works, and emergency response units. “As soon as the storm starts, work schedules will be abandoned,” Mayor Bill Laforet said. “We are going to be all hands on deck.” According to township officials, preparation for Hurricane Sandy started earlier this week. “We can’t control Mother Nature, but we are going to do everything we can to prepare for this storm,” Laforet said. Mahwah has launched a new emergency notification system. Run by Nixle, LLC, the new system…
Sandy
5:08 am on Monday, February 18, 2013
You're absolutely right S Smith! more ›