Six towns in the Somerset Hills are cracking down on crime. Here's how

Six northern Somerset County towns – Bedminster, Bernards, Bernardsville, Bridgewater, Far Hills and Peapack-Gladstone – have joined together to battles an increase in vehicle thefts, burglaries and home invasions in the Somerset Hills.

Besides adopting ordinances that give police more tools to prevent crime, the mayors also want to send "a clear message" to state legislators to review laws and policies, establish a "hard line" on thefts, and reverse bail reform.

Each of the municipalities have adopted ordinances, modelled after laws passed in Union County towns along the Interstate 78 corridor, that empower local police departments to prosecute vehicle and home theft crimes more effectively, particularly in cases where the mayors say the state’s Attorney General has set precedent for such crimes not to be prosecuted.

The ordinances give police the authority to summons unauthorized people found on private property pulling on a door handle of vehicle or possessing an electronic device that determines if an electronic key is inside the vehicle and other actions.

Bridgewater Mayor Matt Moench said it will also send a message to the state government that "we believe that they need to increase their efforts at combatting these crimes which impact a lot of municipalities."

“This ordinance provides an additional tool to combat car thefts, although it isn’t a silver bullet," said Bedminster Mayor Larry Jacobs.

The municipalities have also pledged to engage in a collaborative effort to fight the crimes.

For more information on the effort, contact the Somerset Hills Public Safety Committee through Peapack-Gladstone Mayor Mark Corigliano at mcorigliano@peapackgladstone.org.

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.