Stafford Twp. Police Arrest Four in Rash of Vehicle Break-ins

The Stafford Township Police made some news earlier this month when they promoted a "Lock Your Vehicle" campaign, intended to stop a rash of vehicles being burglarized or stolen in the township.

Most of the vehicles being targeted according to the police were "high-end" vehicles that were left unlocked and, thus, presented easy pickings for the thieves.

At the time, Stafford Township Police said they planned to go out nightly into neighborhoods after 9 pm to check if "high-end cars" are locked. If they found a car unlocked, police said you could expect a visit from them at your door.

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That's the first thing I thought of this morning when I read that the Stafford Township Police had arrested four people on a variety of vehicle theft and burglary charges.

According to a post from police on Facebook, a total of 91 charges have been filed against Henry Alverez, 18, of Atlantic City, and three minors - a 14, 15, and 16-year-old from Atlantic City.

Charges included theft, burglary, conspiracy, and criminal attempts to commit these offenses.

Police say these crimes occurred on Saturday, July 24, and Wednesday, July 28.

The Lock Your Vehicles campaign met with some controversy from the community at the time on social media. I wrote an article about it on Aug 11.

Here was the reaction to that controversy from Stafford Township Police.

While our post is clearly controversial, we will stand behind doing EVERYTHING in our power to serve and protect the citizens of Stafford Township. This includes getting our “lock your vehicle” message out to residents through both social media and traditional formats, as well as thinking out of the box with our most recent proactive approach of checking vehicles.

While this method does take time from our patrol officers, it does not compare to the time and resources that it takes to fully investigate each and every motor vehicle theft and vehicle burglary that occurs. High-end vehicles are our main focus because high-end vehicles have been the main target of motor vehicle thefts in our area. Our main objective, again, is to serve and protect our residents.