Oh, wait. >> We had a problem getting a lot of those. >> All right, we're back. Mhm. >> Okay. All right. Tell me what are on >> chief. You can hear all of us
>> and you can hear Miss Herman as well. >> Yes, I can hear everybody. >> Great. Thank you. Welcome everyone to our public safety committee. Apologies for starting 10 minutes late today. but we were in another meeting. So, uh
we're going to start off with the police uniform crime statistics, uniform crime report statistics. Um during the month month of March, Maplewood showed another decrease 25% in major crime compared to March of 2025.
Overall, major crimes year to date are down 21% compared to this time last year. here. >> Do you uh do you have >> Yep. >> Um do you have it available? >> Okay.
>> Yeah. So, we're going to share that report so we can go through it. Um I did want to bring up so um no homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault or arson in March of 2026. That is all great news. The uh crime that we did have were two
burglaries, two autotheft, and 14 theft. Um, Chief, I noticed that both burglaries involved contact with the owner and this is concerning. I wonder if you can talk to us a little bit about what residents what what is your guidance to residents? I know this is something that a lot of
residents are concerned about and this is something we absolutely want to avoid is any kind of contact. >> Yeah. So, um, a good thing is that out of we had nine burglaries this year. Out of the nine, we've, um, cleared six with
arrests. So, we made, um, arrest in six of those nine burglaries. Um, the contact, um, comes when, you know, the what we're finding is that when they bring into these homes, they're these uh, persons are not trying to make contact, but sometimes contact happens.
you know, you hear a loud noise, they come downstairs, you see the the perpetrator, and the perpetrator takes off. Um, so all I'll say most of mostly all of our burglaries have been non-confrontational
where it was just um it happened to be that when they're coming in, the homeowner was right there or something to that effect. Um but again out of the nine we've had we've made six arrests in those burglaries. So um you know the
what we what we always teach or we always uh tell the public you know of course lock your doors. Um the burglaries they're looking for vehicles. They're looking for vehicle keys. Um and once they get the keys and they are able
to uh get out they're out. So that's the motivation is um attempting to take these vehicles. >> So for homeowners, what can they do? I think in um you know, sometimes the windows are or doors are unlocked.
You're right. Sometimes they remove an air conditioner or break a window. Um sometimes it's car keys. Uh I think also maybe a TV sometimes. But um the big thing we're hearing from residents is, you know, is um this is this is scary.
This is terrifying that somebody's going to come into your home and and and the confrontation is the part that we really want to avoid. >> Definitely, you want to avoid the confrontation. Also, if um you know um
do your best to you know, lock the doors. As I said, if they come in, do not um fight. Um you know, just, you know, if they if they're coming again, once they see somebody in there, um most of the time they're just leaving anyway. They're running out of there. Um
>> so, >> yeah. >> So, what should residents do? Because in both of these cases, for example, they it was the resident that was that either confronted them or yelled that got them to leave and then they ran off. Um but but what should residents do because I
mean and they're in this situation. >> Yeah. So I mean if if in that scenario I mean they they did the right thing. They yelled and they took off. You know I you know I would I wouldn't say fight them but you know um you know each each
situation is different. The best way again is to lock your doors. Keep everything locked. I would keep the keys downstairs. Um, but you know, and and and you know, use measures to to protect your vehicles as far as put it in the
driveway. If you have a garage, put in the garage, put a you know, so they're looking for these high-end vehicles and they're going to um, you know, they're they're making attempts to make these vehicles. We've uh through each year lowered these attempts and lowered these lowered these
burglaries by making arrests on two two individuals that did uh more than five jobs in our town. They have been arrested. So um you know we we as the police we give these areas extra attention. Our detectives are very good
at investigating and solving these crimes. >> Well, thank you. Um that is certainly good news. Um do you want to walk us through this chart and some of the the things that we that we saw? I I noticed I noted that both vehicles I believe were recovered. So kudos on that.
>> Yeah. Yes. Uh vehicles were recovered. Again the major stat is the burglaries um we had a actually had a burglary today and that person was arrested. So made the total to nine burglaries uh for the year. Six arrests.
Um again we have uh zero homicides or arson or rape uh robberies zero huge stat. Um aggravated assault year to date is one and that one was a domestic violence
incident. Um we talked about the burglaries. The thefts are mostly shoplifting. So we get a lot of shoplifting uh thefts on um Springfield Avenue at our stores up there. Auto thefts, as you see, every year has gone down in Maplewood, also statewide.
So, um I think that's a lot of um what we put out throughout the years about lock your doors, don't keep your cars running. >> Um you don't take your keys with you. >> Um and you know, so lot some some these
burglaries are tied to vehicle thefts as well. Um and we lowered those till as you can see um on our burglary stats as well and incidents overall have went down. >> The crime numbers are are definitely down and that's a kudos to you and the
department. Thank you. Um I wanted to ask about the other criminal activity because it looks like that has has gone up a tiny bit. So I'm not sure. Um, so I made a So in the agenda, um, Pat,
can you bring up the agenda? There we go. All right. Now, if you scroll down. Thank you. This is so helpful. Okay, so I took a look at these are some of the other criminal activity and and
so the major crimes really the numbers are are really down. It's it's wonderful to see that. Um I did want to ask about this because I I sort of take a look at this every month. Um and if you look at this chart um so uh this so my so these
are um other criminal activity it's things like fraud, criminal mischief, um uh sex offenses and drug offenses of which we have zero so far this year, harassment threats, disorderly conduct, we only had one weapons offense, uh simple assault. Um so for for a for
these um fraud increased in March to from two in January and three in February to 11 in March. Criminal mischief five in in January, two in February, nine in March. And then harassment threats also went up
from three in January, four in February to eight in March. So I just, you know, and then looking at the monthly total, they're up. So, I just wondered if you could walk us through that a little bit. >> Okay. Yeah, most most of these um incidents on this graph are through
citizen reports. So, >> okay. >> We don't know till after the fact. So, once they something happens, they come in through the citizen report and then our detectives investigate. So, a lot of fraud. It might be online or >> that kind of fraud. >> Um criminal mischief. We did get a
couple incidents in the park of graffiti. So it has criminal. >> Um okay. >> So um and and also that that's that um goes into our schools as well. So there's um graffiti in the school that's
considered criminal mischief. Um you would say the major ones are sex offense and drug offense. Zero harassment threats. >> Yes. >> Harassment threats are are usually a person making a complaint about somebody. um you know um a coworker
threatened him or somebody threatened them and they put it on a citizen report and then we um investigate it from there. So those um and uh disorderly conduct um it it could be um that could be a
fight, it could be um in a school. Um, so a lot of these incidents are after the fact and are reported after when the person comes to headquarters and files a report. Firearms investigation, of course, is uh folks applying for firearms.
>> Right. Right. >> Yeah. Yeah. I just noticed that they were a little higher in March and so I was like, "Huh?" >> Yeah. I It's It's hard to put a gauge on that because again, it's after the fact. It's usually we're not getting call. we're getting um you know it could be um
you know it doesn't have to be right away. It could be like last month um I u I checked my bank account and this was fraudulent or something to that effect you know. >> Okay. Um does anyone have any questions so
far? Mayor Mr. Dus Adams >> anyone else? I know that I just wanted to say this. Last year, I think the chief mentioned that you could call the police department and they will send someone out to your house and do some, you know, look at your doors, look at
your windows, make sure just make some recommendations. I got that program going. >> Yeah. So, we have Miss Collings here. Um, and Chief, this is a probably a good time to reme remind residents about the safety checks that your officers do.
>> Yes. So, we do um so we we advertise it on our um our police bottles on the bottom. Uh you can contact us for a free home inspection check. Uh ways you can um update your home or do things to your
home to make it more safe. We also put it on our website and um so we um the information is up there. call us, set up an appointment, and then we'll come out and do a home um inspection to see things that can make it uh more safe
or, you know, find things that you might not see like um >> Thank you. >> Yeah, that's a great service. And um I mean, I think we can't remind residents enough because I think, you know, the more people are able to take advantage of it, you know, hopefully it'll make
everyone's home safer. Um so, moving on to trap. So, did you want to add anything else about the crime statistics before we move on? >> Uh, no. It's it's um everything pretty the major crimes are trending down, which is great.
>> Yes. Yeah, definitely. Uh, traffic enforcement and pedestrian safety. Oh, yay. You got the chart ready to go. >> Yeah. >> All right. So, let's take a look. You want to walk us through this?
>> Yeah. So, yeah. Yeah. So, you have the overnight this this uh goes to March um overnight tickets. Um we're we're down from where we were. >> We're the gray. We're the gray line. >> So, if you look at it, blue, green, and
then we're gray is 2026. >> Yeah, gray is 2026. So, we are higher than February 2026, but we are um lower than uh February 2026. So >> February of last year, what were that's
a lot. >> Yeah. Yeah. So um yeah, so we we um you know, we we we we have streets where uh complaint streets where we um we target and um you know, so we we we
target overnight parking if they do not have a permit or um one or two night permission. >> Yeah. Yeah, I was when I when I looked through like some of the other traffic stats you sent, there's a lot of overnight parking in there. I mean, that's a that's a lot of enforcement per
month. >> Um, we're overnight parking. >> What about the other? >> So, um, you want to keep going down? So, overnight parking, what's the next one? Other parking tickets. >> Other parking tickets. Um, as you can
see, March >> Ooh. >> 386. >> Yeah. Better than the last two years. >> Yeah. So, that's that's um, you know, we we're uh we we do a lot of enforcement
down in Maplewood Center at night now that we we we used um and during the day and uh Parker Avenue and um other um streets and uh during school hours and everything. So that's all those those uh that's that total.
>> Well, big kudos to the traffic enforcement officers uh who are doing this. >> That's all right. >> Okay. >> No, you >> There we go. >> There you go. All right. Sorry for
anyone who's watching. >> We've got multiple laptops in this room, so it's a little um confusing. >> I wanted to ask a question though about parking. >> Yeah, go for it. >> Uh so, Chief, do you know what percentage of these parking, not the
overnight parking, but the parking enforcement uh is related to uh timerestricted parking enforcement? >> Yeah, I don't have that number. I don't have that breakdown >> because in the in in the other document,
the UCR report, >> um it shows that um that the majority of these additional parking enforcement stats are not related to time restricted
parking enforcement. >> So, um we're we're going to we're going to go back to the agenda. I did a deep dive into the parking tickets that were given on Parker. Well, the tickets moving and parking that were given on Parker Avenue. So, we're going to take a look at that in the agenda. And then
next month, we're going to do a deep dive into the village and we that's where we'll be able to break out exactly what you're talking about, the timerestricted uh Oh, this is going to be good, guys. We're going to look and see how many left turn into the parking spots there
are, how many handicap spots. We're going to look at we're going to do um a deep dive into that next month. >> Yeah, I appreciate that. Uh I think that's important because I think the uh the message that we gave the community is that we shouldn't engage in paid parking in the village because uh we're
just going to up our enforcement of timerestricted parking in the village. And I'm not convinced that that's happening. It is happening, but I believe but um we're going to be able to have a really good conversation on whether or not the enforcement is enough.
>> Yeah. Okay. >> So, and we'll get to that on Parker in just a second. So, let's go through the rest of this parking these parking slides. Uh so, these are other parking tickets that police officers are giving and
moving violations. Oh, wow. Look at March. That's uh That's that's way up there. >> Um >> so we we did have um some uh grant money
um for so we had uh details out there for enforcement. So that helped us uh with that. >> Great. Great. Yeah. I mean, you know, um I I was going to say earlier about about parking tickets. I I actually saw one
getting written this morning uh when I went into town to get um get coffee and the the person was picking up dry cleaning and said went said to the officer, "I just parked here for a second." And she said, "Doesn't matter." And and the person said, "Um you know,
well, there's no place else to park." And and then the the traffic enforcement officer said to the individual, "Um, not my problem, but you can't park here. This is not a spot. So, um, you know, it's it's tough love, but you know,
>> everybody complains about it and we gota, you know, we got to drive better and park better, right? Then everybody can stop complaining. >> I'd wager to bet there was another place to park. >> We have right in front.
>> Exactly. Exactly. You know what? It's a community. We all have to work together, right? Uh, radar violations. >> Yeah, radar violations. So, um, yeah. So, we had >> I'm sorry, >> is it speed like speed radar?
>> Yep. Yeah, speed radar. So, we had 10 issued for the month of March. >> Okay. >> Do you how many how many like uh officers do this? Like do you have like a speed radar in multiple cars? You go different spots,
>> right? So, we have speed radars in uh in in most of or not all the cars. Um again, if they're if they So, what what I found was a couple years ago, well maybe uh two years ago when we were um
we we used to have details for radar where a officer would have to sit on a certain fixed post for 40 45 minutes doing radar. Um I found that we were issuing less tickets by doing that. So
by not restricting the officer and let him ride around in a certain area where we are having problems, that's why our ticket numbers have gone up a um the last two years since we've done it like that. So >> yeah, >> giving officers more leeway of where
they we give them an area where we want them to do their details, but they're able to drive around instead of being on a fixed spot. And sometimes on a fixed bike, you don't see there's nothing going on. If you're driving around, you have you have the ability to see other um issues going on and be able to issue.
>> Okay, thanks for that insight, Pat. Is there anything else there? We Oh, yeah. We got more warning notices. So, this is both um parking enforcement officers, that's PEO, and police.
and for March. Pretty good number. Total summons. So 2026. >> Yeah. So we're only in uh March with this. >> Yeah, we're only in March. So this is like year to date, >> right? >> All right. All right.
Well, your year to date is already more if you go back. >> Yeah. >> Did you see that? The year to date is already better than the whole number for uh Yeah. So look at that. Um the
year to date for 2026 3577 is better than um well no I was looking at PEO in 2024 but yeah that's not comparable. All right well it keep going. You're doing good.
>> All right so let's go back to the agenda. Um do you want to bring it up? So, um um in the agenda, we don't have to discuss this necessarily. There's a motor vehicle accident calls. Um
you know, it's this is just really making the community aware that, you know, there continues to be hit and runs every month. Uh motor vehicle accidents, you know, which our police attend to. Um no pedestrian injuries this month. That's a that's a
good sign. Um any additional comments on that chief? >> Uh no just I think the uh enforcement is helping that. Also um the um traffic
calming is helping that as well and uh so you know hopefully you know that that continues the now as far as accidents. >> Yeah. Yeah. That would be the goal like um
>> so the hill the hidden runs are not necessarily involve a pedestrian right these this could be hit and runs of motor vehicle to motor vehicle correct >> right right motor vehicle motor vehicle
motor vehicle to object >> right so if it's if it involves a pedestrian it would be in that that line >> yesuh at the bottom where there's All right. So, part So, this is what I was teasing earlier. Okay. So, if we
scroll up to the Parker Avenue, see if we can get this all on the screen. This is a juicy bit of data. Okay. So, um so we have reports for Parker Avenue at each intersection from January,
February, March, and April. It's broken out by moving violations and parking violations. So, the yellow lines, if you look across, you'll see the moving violations each month on Parker Avenue, um
35, 33, 52, and 43. And then if you look down at the parking violations, those have really increased. So, we've gone from about seven parking violations in January and 10 in February up to 28 and 27 in the last two months. So, um, for
the moving violations, I grabbed the ones like I I there there are several in there that are for like, um, failure to have driver's license or insurance or that sort of thing. And so, I weeded those out and put the ones that, um, I think that the public is
really concerned about and have to do with um, unsafe driving. And then for the parking violations, those do add up. So everything that you see there listed does add up to those parking violation numbers. And so this gives you a sense of what the officers are seeing on
Parker Avenue and also the fact that uh violations have gone up. Um and if you look at parking it, you know, so we've we've gotten complaints that, you know, cars are parked in the bike lanes. Um and this is relevant as we discuss um
complete streets for prospects. Um so if you see no stopping or standing, the officers are the last couple of months have given a lot of tickets for that. Um parking prohibited. Um yeah, it's mainly the no stopping or standing for the parking. And then if you look up on our
moving violations, um there's a lot of ticketing being given for disregarding stop sign. Uh and a lot of those are around that new stop sign on Prospect. >> Yes. >> Uh or delaying traffic. >> Yes. So um
>> any questions? >> So just could you define that delaying traffic? What what does that mean? >> Yeah. So delaying traffic is um it could be no stopping or standing but delay traffic is stopping in traffic or just stopping in the street and usually that's letting somebody out or letting
somebody in. >> Yeah. So, if you a lot of these are somewhat similar and it's it's um chief I it looks like it's kind of the discretion of the officer what they what they um write them up at. Yes. >> Because um you know there's improper
letting off or taking on of passengers, delaying traffic, unsafe operation of vehicle, careless driving. Like there's a lot of these that are similar and it it seems it's it's probably the officer's discretion. But that's why if you take them all together, you know,
you get like a fuller picture of Yeah. the officers are out there um at Columbia High School on Parker Avenue where the bike lanes are and they're giving out tickets. >> Yes. >> So, you know, this has been brought up and I want the community to know that, you know, our officers are taking this
seriously. They're working really hard to make sure that cars are being safe around our kids who are walking to school and keeping, you know, the vehicles out of these bike lanes. So, thank you. If you want to scroll down on the agenda,
uh, and then number two, the village, we're going to do a deep same deep dive like we just looked at here with Parker Avenue. We're going to do that for Maplewood Village next month. So, that's something to look forward to. Um,
overtime report looked good. Um, and now we're into other police items, which is the meat of today's meeting, tonight's meeting. Want to start off by saying thank you to the officers who came out to our health
fair. It was really nice to see a bunch of them there and for them to take part. Um uh they had a easy ride doing a few bike lessons and a bunch of officers interacting with the community. So it was really uh wonderful. A bunch of us
got to see them. So thank you. And I wanted to bring up in that um note I wanted to bring up South Orange Police Department has what's called the SAV since it stands for sensory activation vehicle. It's called the SAV. Um, and I
wanted to make sure, chief, that you are aware of, um, this vehicle. We used it at the health fair. Um, and it was stationed outside of, uh, the community center at the heart park. And it's a, so it's a standalone vehicle that offers
residents a quiet, you know, residents who are, you know, could be neurodeiverse, could be an anxious, you know, maybe they need like a quiet space. Uh kids can use it, adults can use it, but it's supposed to provide you know a sensory friendly space if they
get a little um you know um agitated in a in a larger crowded um or loud environment. So it's really good for community events. Um South Orange does have this, but they um they loan it to
Maplewood if we need it. And so we just have to make a request and if they're not using it for something else um then we could use it. Um and so we made the request for the health fair. We were able to get it and use it. Um but I wanted to make your department aware of
this. um some of your staff was very interested in it and um you know would I would love to you know um you know if if you could you know discuss with South Orange Police Department and introduce
you know um some of your staff who might be relevant uh to knowing how to use that um so you could possibly use it if you have um events that might be applicable for Um, Mr. Dafus, there's been a lot of
talk in the community about ICE activity and we wanted to bring this up. Um, do you want to ask the sheep about some of the recent >> no ice incidents? >> I mean, we could do that. Um, but I'd
rather update the community on some of the public statements that we've made about this. So, uh, we were hoping tonight to share here in this subcommittee, uh, an FAQ document that we've been working on with all of our partners in
the community, including with MPD. Uh, this would be, uh, a Q&A related specifically to exactly this topic, ICE activity. We had three arrests today. We had four arrests the other day. ICE has
been in Maplewood now at least five times, I feel. Um, and the community has the right to know from its local government and local law enforcement agency what are their rights when they uh are
affected by this directly uh or if they as a good neighbor respond to such activity. What can they do and not do? What will Maplewood PD do if they show up and happen to be there still before
ICE leaves? Will Maplewood PD engage and or assist ICE in their uh activities? What is MPD's role in a situation like that? If we tell people to call MPD
non-emergency number uh in a situation like this, um what does that mean? What promise or expectation are we creating uh by that? What what will MPD do when they show up? Uh and so what we were
hoping to provide tonight was a document that kind of puts all of this together, including uh reaffirming our uh welcoming status resolution which incorporated the immigration trust directive from the attorney general.
Now, that directive is the law of New Jersey. Um I'm afraid that that document is not ready to be shared tonight. Uh we're not hiding anything or holding anything back. It just there were some last minute drafts literally this afternoon that I have not had the opportunity to
review. Uh and and therefore share with the public. Um, so I think this will be ready for the next public safety committee and then we need to have a discussion at the township committee about uh promoting this kind of
information and engaging in town halls with the community to uh to have like a a conversation about about this activity in town. Um MPD has has said and they stand by and our welcoming status
affirms that they will not engage in ICE activity. They will not assist ICE. Their job in these situations is to keep the peace and to keep the residents of Maplewood who they serve safe. That could include in any partic particular
scenario. Again, the facts always matter in these scenarios. every single one is different from the one before. That could include um you know ensuring keeping ICE away from residents if residents are being threatened uh or or
you know uh if there's bodily harm or use of force, right? But we'll get into those specifics once we're able to issue the FAQ. The FAQ will also include know your rights. Um it will incorporate uh all the great information that we've
amassed with our uh community stakeholder partners and all the organizations, immigration rights organizations included, the ACLU, social justice organizations like that uh have already put out a lot of good guidance as it relates to know knowing your
rights in situations like this. Uh I know that uh some folks have reached out, our our community partners have reached out to recommend that we update our welcoming status resolution to make it stronger. Uh when Governor Cheryl uh
signed the trust directive into law and other recent uh protections that relate to this topic, uh Monontlair went ahead and updated it, revised its ordinance to make it stronger and clearer about what Montlair would not do um in terms of
assisting um immigration enforcement and ICE. Uh and we want to do the same. Uh we think that it makes sense for us to uh most likely up update an ordinance as well, not just in our welcoming resolution, actually codify this into
law in Maplewood. And we want to be able to share that with public safety committee when we next meet next month. Um so that's where we are. I think it's good stuff. We do have we we're working very closely with uh members of the community board on police with the local
South Orange, Maplewood, ICE, uh local response teams and other community advocates and of course with some of the experts out there like I mentioned the ACLU, Make the Road New Jersey, Immigration Alliance, you know, all of these uh notable and credible
organizations in this area so that we could issue guidance that's Maplewood specific. uh and engage the community in that conversation. >> And and just on the point about um the resolution versus ordinance by putting
it in as an ordinance, it binds the future. >> Yes. >> The resolution really can be changed by a future township committee. So can an ordinance, but it is a much different process. >> Right. A resolution is something you move in one m meeting pretty quickly. Uh
but an ordinance takes a lot more work and uh >> requires a public hearing. >> Requires a public hearing and uh you know it's law like you said it goes in the books for generations to come future township committees. >> So um I I support this. I think that we
should um beef up the welcoming resolution and and put it in ordinance. I would I would definitely um like to uh see how we can get that together. Yeah, and we have the support of our chief here who's here with us tonight and his
colleagues and fellow peers uh in Maplewood Police Department. Um so, you know, we want the community to know that this is definitely something that everyone is on board with. Um what is happening should not be happening. its
lawlessness and um we will not stand for it and we do need to meet the the moment right now and that means uh being stronger and protecting our residents to the best of our ability. A lot of things are out of our control of course um but
we will do what we can do at the local level to the best of our ability. >> Any questions? Uh just one thing can you talk a little bit if you know the difference between um so public space I'm glad you
mentioned this >> you know that that ice would not be able to be come into public space but there's different types of public space a park is different than capture offices >> right so uh what governor Cheryl's law
governor's executive order and law put into place for state property is that um you know we reserve the right for state property to um to aortion certain areas
of state property to designate them as non-public for purposes of ICE activity. There are exceptions, right? This is not as as pure as it's being presented out there. Um because you know when there is
a warrant and uh there is um you know uh something being enforced um uh by other agencies non ICE these things don't apply right but we too at the local level have the opportunity to certainly
say that uh we can designate certain township property as private spaces uh in which um ICE or a similar law enforcement, immigration law enforcement would not have access to. Um, and that
is something that we'll uh incorporate in our FAQ and our uh proposed ordinance. >> Yeah, that's in the facts and that's something that we're still working on and that could be a separate um ordinance or resolution. Yeah, I mean it
could be incorporated or could be separated and we're still talking to legal about the most effective and cleanest way to make that happen. I mean essentially for pe for for residents I mean what we found out legally is that if it's open to the public then we can't
bar the ICE agents you know like a public street public park um or buildings that are public um if it's public and the residents can come in they can too and that's what we're sort of grappling with >> right but this town hall building that
we're all sitting in for this meeting at least those of us who are on this side of the camera uh and not you comfortable out there at home. Um you know, we this is a public building, but we reserve the right to designate certain areas as safe
spaces um and private areas even though this is otherwise a public building. This is the people's house. Anyone can come in here at any time whether they have business or not, right? >> Um so there are things that we can do. Again, we need to be clear about it and
accurate so that we're also not creating false promises. Um, and if you look closer at what the state did for New Jersey, um, you'll see upon closer inspection that there are a lot of, uh, exceptions and exemptions. It's not all
state property and it's not exactly the way it was communicated, uh, you know, for the biggest bang on social media, if you will. >> Yeah. Yeah. And that's important because we don't want people, you know, um thinking one thing and then um us not
being able to protect them because, you know, that's that's not the goal. Uh so, thank you for your work on this. Um we'll keep we'll keep working on it. Um, I really do want to bring this to this
committee next month and I really hope that uh everyone that we're working with here internally as well um will lean into that so that we could uh have something to share because we've talked about this now a couple times at least and I think the public is getting a
little bit anxious especially after this week. This week was really rough on our community seeing local residents and neighbors getting picked up, families being separated. Um, and people don't want to see us talk. They want to see >> they want to know what their rights are and how we can protect them.
>> Yeah. Um, I mean, I guess depending on when it's ready, um, if we could move do something sooner, um, you know, before bringing it back to this committee. Um,
>> yeah. I mean, I think the timeline is such we're not going to have something for Tuesday night for township committee and then our next township committee is the middle of June around the next time that this committee meets. So, practically speaking, it's going to be next month. Yeah. >> Yep. Um,
thank you. Um, okay. Any other questions on ICE before we move on? Um I I I was remiss in skipping over we had um public comment at the very top of the meeting and I apologize. Um I wanted I
Pat can you ask if anybody who was on had wanted to speak about ICE. I had gotten a couple of emails and I don't know if anybody I want to give them that opportunity if they wanted to comment on that. >> Yeah. I see a couple of our local advocates. I see Cynthia's here. Cynthia sent us the Monontlair ordinance as a
suggestion. We welcome that. Yeah, that was um >> that was great. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. I I see one member of the public here. If you are interested in addressing the public safety committee, please raise your hand. Move you over to P. >> Oh, Susan. Cynthia must have dropped
out. Okay. >> How do you see that? >> All right. No hands. >> All right. We'll keep going and we'll have another opportunity at the end of the meeting for public comment. Um, okay. So, um, the new ebike law is
taking effect in July. Myself and the mayor are meeting with our lawyer tomorrow to talk about this. Um, in the meantime, I wanted to bring this up and Chief Sally, I understand you have at least uh I want to see what you've what
you what you and your staff have done to prepare for this new law taking effect. And I think you have at least >> one important announcement to share. And I meant to put that fire in the Oh, that'd be that'd be great.
Yeah, I was going to ask for the flyer. >> Yep. No trouble. >> Also, we've been working with the school. We did um our officers have started a PSA announcement regarding ebikes. Um I don't think it's ready yet, but they have been working on that with
the school. >> Oh, that's great. >> Yep. And then with the flyer, you see Thursday, May 28th, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. we'll have a live online presentation. Um it's it's um so there'll be a
presentation. You can log in. Uh the QR code's on the bottom there. Sign up and listen to the presentation. Then you have questions. You can have questions to get answered by a professional who knows the ins and outs of ebiking.
>> Great. Thank you for setting this up. I think this will be really helpful. Do we know if this is going to be recorded so that people can watch it later? >> I'm not sure, but I will ask. >> Yeah, this will be great. >> Um, I believe South Orange had something
similar. Um, so this is great to offer this in Maplewood. For anyone who missed the earlier one, you know, this is two tans. You can come to either one of our meetings. Everyone's welcome. Um, so great. Thank you for setting this up and working with the school. I think that's,
you know, that's where a lot of the scooters are are used. A lot of the ebike, well, it's where a lot of the um some of the ebikes are used. Um but, you know, in terms of getting the information out there. Um any other questions from the
committee on this? All right. Where's my agenda? Okay. Um so, I put this on the agenda. um update on so I wanted to ask about
Maplewood's um coordination between the school district and Nixl um and this is specifically regarding there was the Newark police were responding to an incident over in the Ivy Hill area on April 27th
>> and what happened was that um all of the a bunch of parents in the school district got Nix got um not Nixel, they got alerts from the school district um in text message that there was a lockdown at Clinton High School, not
high school, Clinton Elementary School. Um everyone in the district got it, even parents who didn't have kids at Clinton. Everybody got it. And so then all of a sudden, everybody was like, "What's happening?" You know, a lot of people noticed helicopter activity. There was a lot of um wondering what was happening,
you know, and some anxiety. And then the Nixual alert went out and um you know said that there was police activity there and it was Newark police activity and then the school district texted everybody and said that the lockdown had
been lifted and um everything was okay. So I just wanted to ask about the coordination and this is this involves like multiple agencies right because there's like Newark right doing their thing was and it was their their it was their investigation it wasn't even I
don't think it was you guys were involved um >> or not >> and then the school districts >> right >> so um what can you tell us about that incident and about like coordinating so we don't have you know parents not not knowing what's happening
>> yeah so Um, you know, you got to remember everything's happening at a fast pace. So, we try to get information out as fast as possible and accurate information. Um, so, and also when you're working with a multi- uh multi- agencies, it's it's it's a little slower to get the information on what's exactly
happening because when it's when um a situation is happening, um that agency is focused on the investigation um where uh they had somebody that they were looking for. um they they they
might um contact us directly or other towns directly, but also we have radio communication uh where u they'll put it out on spin what they're looking for and our police department could pick it up or dispatchers pick it up from there. Uh
the school the school um um realized that there was a situation there. They put it on they put it in a shelter in place. Um and the shelter in place was cleared by the police department after we realized everything was safe.
>> So did you know when the shel like when the shelter in place was starting because >> Yeah. So the school officials told us that they were sheltering in place. >> So okay they put it in a shelter in place. They notified us and then we um were um attempting to get updates from
Norc of what was going on and to see if it was if the scene was safe and then uh release the school. >> Do you get alerts from the school? Like does somebody in the police department get an alert? So >> yes, >> like do you are you aware of what's
being um transmitted to all of the parents? >> Not as well. We don't know the communication sent to the parents, but we know that they're in a shelter in place. So, we will know that the school is sheltered in place and us being law enforcement will know the reason why they're sheltered in place.
>> Yeah, you might want to see if you can get um you know, the information that's going out to all their parents. There was a because there was a 20 minute lag in between the the communication from the school that there was a shelter in place
>> and then the NIXLE from the police department. >> Yeah, cuz the shelter in place information does not come from the police department. >> But it would the NIXL would but it might be some time on the Nix because we got to make sure we got to find out what's going on before we send the Nixl out, >> right? >> Or accurate information,
>> right? I'm just saying there's a the the alert the alert went out to all the parents and then 20 minutes later the Nixel alert came through. So, um that's the coordination that I think we need to work on. >> Yeah. I mean, as as a police department,
we move as fast as we can. Sometimes it's just, you know, we're working the job and we get to I'm not saying that's the case here, but a lot of times that's what it what's happening. a lot of moving parts and an immediate investigation that's taking place live.
>> So who calls the school and tells him that there's an incident endured that's so so so for example that incident we didn't know the um the school official um saw something and put it in a shelter
in place. >> So they did it on their own without any neighborood police involvement. Yeah, from my from my knowledge, we didn't we didn't um know of the situation until after they already put in a shelter in place. >> And then when the Maplewood police found
out about it, shortly thereafter, Nixon went out from the Maplewood Police. >> Correct. And and contacted the agency to find out what's happening. >> And this was the incident where someone drove through the laundromat, right? Correct. >> Correct. >> And and for a while, they weren't sure
what it was, right? if it was just an accident or if it was some kind of other activity that >> you end up being end up being a drunk driver, but um yeah, that's the scenario.
>> So, so I guess I don't know how we prevent that. If someone at the school hears about this or, you know, maybe even hears it on a scanner, Newark police scanner, right, and decides to do an alert because they're nearby. How do we
>> What do we do? >> Well, I think it's on the school district to have better communication with the police department. So, I don't know. >> With our police department, >> agencies. >> Yeah. But like like so >> like if they're going to call a shelter in place, they should be calling our
police department and coordinating it with them. >> So like for example, if it happened in Maplewood and we're looking for a person, we would notify other agencies that we're looking for this person, we would, you know, um request that. um uh
Norc put it out on um it's on the radio that that something is happening that this is happening. Um but to know where exactly if it's coming near the school or that's you know um don't know I mean
you you know don't they could have went they could have went back into Ivy Hill you know or >> so so chief the driver of this car took off right? >> Yeah. And so it could have been that, you know, the report was that the the
driver of the pled crossed Irvington Avenue into Maplewood and someone like at Clinton school said, "Well, that's just right down the street. We got to do something about it." >> Correct. Or it could be the drop the the
the person running into Ivy Hill or you know or you know. So, it sounds like we should bring this up during our next meeting with the superintendent. >> The chief, the the school district did
notify you that they were shelter. >> Yes. Yes, they did. >> So, I think the the only piece that PD didn't have was exactly what went out to the parents in the district. >> Correct. >> They were they were the PD was notified by the district that they were in a shelter. >> Yes, we were.
So, I mean, I also wonder like if if RPD should have been the one to notify the school of any danger, you know? I I'm just like I'm just puzzled >> like like if we if another agency called us and said, "Yeah, there's uh a bad guy
running into Maplewood." It would be it would be for the police department to call the school and say, "Listen, this he's by whatever school. You guys need to shelter in place." It didn't happen that way. it. I think this the school knew before we knew and then they sheltered in place. We realized it was
safe and then we released it. >> Yeah. All right. Well, that helps. I I still feel like, you know, maybe a conversation with the district to, you know, really strengthen the coordination. um you know to have school districts
just deciding here and there that they're going to shelter in place without us really knowing about it just seems a little crazy to me. >> Yeah. But >> but I think I think I think they did a good job with that because you know it was something immediate. I mean, you know, they you know, they they felt
pretty I think the the heavy um law enforcement in the outside area prompted that helicopters and everything else. Um made them make that call and they called us immediately. >> Yeah. Yeah. I mean, safety first.
>> Yeah. If the school thinks there's a problem, it's incumbent upon them to take immediate action. you know, they go to the shelter in place either at the same time or just before they're notifying us and that >> that what happened here, >> right? >> There is frustration. I get it because, you know, there's not immediate information. That's
>> Yeah. Most of the time will be us calling the school and telling them, >> you know, but it didn't happen that way in this incident. >> Yeah. All right. Um, all right, we'll move on.
Overnight parking at the train station before 6:00 a.m. Uh, we had a resident who was requesting this because our overnight parking um, ends at 6:00 a.m. and we have a resident who catches a fi
a train in the 5:00 hour. and Pat did a little research >> and found that apparently we have an ordinance. >> We have an ordinance that says on Dial Road between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. So, anyone can park there from
4:30 a.m. on >> 4:30 a.m. >> So, this person got a ticket. They need to file the This is Sarah across the street from >> Yeah. they need to file the through the New Jersey court. It's on the back end
of the ticket >> and explaining that um you know this is a 257-24 our ordinance overnight parking section 8 notwithstanding the foregoing of 26 no vehicle parked on road between Oakview
Avenue and Baker Street and that we made that section that you can park there from 4:30 a.m. AM. >> Okay. As long as you have a permit. >> Yeah. On the horse side, I think we need to improve the signage in that section.
There are some signs now that say you can park after 5 a.m., but it's not the messaging isn't all on the same pole or so we can if we clean up in that area that will be clearer to residents where they can park and also clear to the
officers who are enforcing. Right. >> I think that's the answer there. >> Yeah. >> You don't think there is a train to New York before that time? Not before 4:30. Right. So that's why there's like nothing. >> This is actually 42 or something. >> Some time ago we made this change.
>> Yeah. >> This was done four hours >> maybe 2017. >> Yeah. >> So we have this already taken care of. That's good news to the residents, >> but we'll improve the signage. And uh Chief, the the other reason I wanted to
put this on is so that your officers know. >> Yep. I got it. that um there is a section on Denell that parking is allowed starting at 4:30 >> so that um and and we will improve the signage but we want to make sure that you communicate that to your officers.
Um uh we were giving tickets >> I'll send you that code session so we can read it exact. >> Yeah. >> Great. I love when we can solve something. Um Chief, you had said previously that
the click it or ticket grant starts in May. >> Started on its way. So we're um working the grant. Click it or ticket is the uh focal point, but if any other violation is observed uh ticket ticketed for those
violations as well. >> Great. We love grants that help with enforcement. So the good work. Um a few training highlights for the month of March. Again, seven training courses. I love all the training that is happening. You guys are
really on it. Um so there was some human traum human trafficking conference for detective and investigative training to identify signs and resources for survivors. Um this is especially important having a large um uh athletic
event coming to our area this summer. That's the FIFA World Cup for those football fans. >> So, um that's very relevant training. Um there was also a license plate
recognition training class, new updates and equipment training for ALPR equipment. Also, legal reporting requirements. Um, Chief, I I mentioned this because there has been some concern in the community about the use of ALPRs and license plates recognition. And I
wonder um I know from what you've shared with us, this really helps your detectives be able to apprehend and arrest um individuals who do commit the um burglaries and the thefts. >> That's correct. And and most of these
LPR u recognitions that we're getting are from out of town. So, u other towns might have them and we um you we are able to use that in our investigations. >> Oh, good point. Yeah, because um being
able to, you know, get that information and this is to to make sure that you crack down on crime, which is exactly what, you know, keep our community safe, >> right? Or or hidden runs or, you know, it helps us with motor vehicle. >> Yes. >> As well. >> Yes.
>> Yeah. Uh also some training fraudulent tag enforcement training. This is traffic dete detection training to identify false vehicle tags and other vehicle vehicle investigative resources. Um I forget why I put this on there. It
seemed interesting to me. Um uh does that do you does that have to do with auto thefts identifying? And also a lot of with these autothefts, they'll use the same car and change the the license plate fictitious tags on the plates. >> Yeah. So our officers can spot it
easier, >> right? >> Yeah. Yeah. No, this is important because you know that the two cars that were stolen this month the in March, they were recovered. >> Yeah. >> You know, so the a lot of these um strategies are working. Um and then I
was I was very pleased to see the the annual conference with the New Jersey women in law enforcement um promoting training and resilience resiliency techniques for female officers. Um so um thank you to all the officers who
took part in these trainings. Uh makes our force better. So we appreciate that. Um there were I I noticed in the report there were seven false alarms. What what what is what con constitutes a false alarm?
>> Uh somebody coming home and getting their passcode or >> Oh, okay. >> Yeah. >> All right. >> So I I don't think seven's too many. It's >> Yeah, >> probably a lot more, but I guess more
people have rings and different >> All right, good to know. Um the 9 911 calls seem pretty much in line. Um, you know, I think it's interesting for people to know that you get around in the 500 500 or so calls every month. Um,
and the response time is very fast. >> Um, you know, and I guess admin line calls or the non the non-emergency number. People are calling that as well or for other reasons. >> Um,
community board on police. Can you, Mr. Weary, check if we have somebody from the community board on police? >> I do not see anybody from Cabop here. >> Nope, I don't either. >> Okay.
Um, Office of Emergency Management, Mr. Weary, do you have any updates? >> No updates this month. >> Wonderful. South Essex Fire Department. Um, I didn't see any outliers in the numbers. Again, we have um medical calls
make up almost half of the month's calls, but they are very important. Their response time is extremely fast. Um they are very um competent and um so thank you to the
SCFD for those. Um, Miss Mayor, do you have any updates from SCFD? >> I do not. We we are looking into the u the false alarms for the fire and also
the notification of people who need assistance and we'll be talking about that more at the CFD meeting. And the only other thing is that Tuesday night at the task committee meeting, we will be issuing a proclamation for um EMS
week and we will be announcing the contribution of funds to the South Orange fire department, South Orange Squad uh from this year's budget. >> Excellent. >> Wonderful.
Um all right, that brings us to other items. Does anyone else have another item? I just want to brief everyone here and anyone who's still watching us at home that um while we were meeting here tonight, Essex County Board of
Commissioners had their public meeting and they passed overwhelmingly uh a resolution called ICE out of Essex. It specifically prohibits ICE from county property and offices unless they
have a judicial warrant. So there you go. There's that public private thing that we can uh do here locally too. >> Very good. >> All right. I'm glad I'm glad they did something. That's that's great. >> So now we got to do something. Let's go Maplewood.
>> Well, I this is exactly what we're asking, though. We're asking for the Essex County to be a leader with the towns in Essex. So that, you know, it's exactly what they should be doing. So I'm really pleased to see that. So we'll take a look at that and, you know,
definitely do something here. Um, any other items? >> I I have one more thing. Um, Patrick, I'm gonna be on the flyer for the U Motor Vehicle Commission coming to town. >> Yep. >> Yeah.
>> Who's coming to town? >> NBC. >> NBC. >> Oh, the motor vehicle. Oh, so people can get the um Real ID. I got one. I got one of those appointments last time. Let me tell you, I had to be at my computer the second
they went live. >> Y >> Oh my god. My mom just looks good. >> I tell you, this whole process for that real ID is much do about nothing. >> Nothing. >> All of that work just to get a little star on your license. >> Right. >> Here it is. So June 10th
>> June 10 is when they're coming with the appointments open, >> right? appointments open on May 21st, 11:00 a.m. >> Y'all put that on your calendar. >> May 21st at 11 a.m.
>> because these appointments go fast. But thank you. Um we had a we had a big turnout the last time that they came. I think it was in um I think it was in December around the holidays. >> Yeah. >> So um you know, we expressed to the the police department that we wanted them to come again and thank you for making it
happen. So, >> and our community services bureau organized this as well as the bite one. So, it's really helpful. So, thank you to them for getting these things together. >> Absolutely. Yeah. So, we'll want to
spread spread this information, but if you're watching this meeting, if you're the one person, you get start. >> Well, they'll get to watch it afterward. >> All right. Um, >> okay. Do we have So we're at our second
public comment. Is there anyone to make a who would like to make a public comment? >> We have one. >> Please raise your hand. >> Yes, we have one member of the public joining. If you would like to speak, just raise your hand on Zoom. All right, Derek. Now, let me move you over to panel. Welcome Susan. If you want to mute
yourself, you can address the committee. Can you hear me? >> Yeah. >> Excellent. Okay. Um, I'm Susan Verek. I'm the co-chair of the immigration committee of Soma Action and uh both Cynthia and Gall Cynthia Gallota and I
were on the on watching the meeting and we were heartened by um u Mr. Daffis' comments about working forward and everyone else's comments working forward on on establishing a stronger ordinance um for for this. So, we're we're eager
to we have some thoughts and we can also share some information with you and we'll be in touch with you uh Mr. Daffis um going forward. Okay. >> Look forward to it. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> And we plan to be at the meeting on Tuesday night as well.
>> Great. >> Okay. Good. >> Great. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Anyone else? >> That is all. >> All right. Um, do we have items for executive session? >> Chief, mayor.
>> Chief says I do. >> Well, he does. >> All right. Um, >> I move we go into executive session. Second what is the what is the nature of your right I'm chief >> yeah I just want to talk about uh staff
>> personnel >> personnel >> second >> all right so we're going to move into executive session thank you to everyone who's joined us we're going to end the lives.