Marlboro mayor says ‘tough-on-crime’ approach helped to reduce car thefts in town

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A Monmouth County town put the brakes on vehicle theft when it took matters into its own hands to combat the problem. It is an effort that has shown remarkable success. Not so long ago, images and videos of people breaking into homes and stealing vehicles out of garages would fill social media timelines and make headlines. “Marlboro’s auto thefts are down 80%, which I’m really happy about. Vehicle break-ins to steal stuff are down 86%. Break-ins into homes are down 80+ %,” says Marlboro Township Mayor Jon Hornik. The Democrat says his town’s tough-on-crime approach to stopping vehicle thefts and related crimes is working. “Those who break the law need to be incarcerated and I don’t care how old they are. If they are part of organized crime - and in this case, that’s who is doing these vehicle thefts - they need to be put behind bars,” Hornik says. According to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, vehicle theft crimes are down countywide 63% from where they were just two years ago. Homeowner John Kabourakis said that in March he scared away intruders from his Howell Township home who were after his keys. He says these new numbers show there’s hard evidence that taking action works and when something is done, the results are seen quickly. The Marlboro police chief and mayor handed out 600 Club anti-theft devices at no cost to taxpayers and they both say it worked wonders. Extra patrols, license plate readers and calling for tougher jail sentences, are all part of the initiatives Hornik put in place. Now, he wants to help other towns struggling with the same problems. “We have a dozen or so initiatives I will share it with each of your mayors. Reach out to me, I will collaborate with you and also contact your state legislators. We need changes to the laws to incarcerate those who are doing wrong,” he said. The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office released a statement about the drop in the numbers. "We are pleased with the downward trajectory of these figures, and while such statistics are inherently highly variable for a wide range of reasons, we have no doubt the trend is due to the concerted effort on the part of our municipal, county, and state law enforcement partners. We have been working together to ensure that investigations into such crimes are handled with the utmost diligence,” Prosecutor Raymond Santiago wrote. "We are still constantly mindful of the danger perpetrators of such crimes present to our communities, particularly in cases in which they enter or break into homes in search of a vehicle key. It is absolutely vital that we remain vigilant in order to maintain our community’s safety. To that end, we have committed to prosecute such criminals to the fullest extent of the law, which includes filing motions for pretrial detention." "