'You Are Safe,' Police Chief Assures Residents

South Orange Police Chief James Chelel attended a meeting of the South Orange Board of Trustees, Monday, to address concerns over an increase of crimes in the Village.

“There has been some concerns over some robberies that we've had,” said Chelel. “The truly is just a little bit of a spike in robberies. Last year we had 31 robberies and as of the end of this weekend we're at 29.”

“Other years have gone as high as 48 so I don't think there is cause for great concern,” he added.

There has been a spike in crime throughout Essex County and the towns that border South Orange, Chelel added.

“We get a report every day from Newark and the County,” he said. “Unfortunately some of the neighboring communities experience very high crime rates. Newark has 1,500 robberies and are up to 94 homicides.”

“That is one of the challenges we face in South Orange, to remain diligent and try to keep criminals from surrounding communities from coming here,” he added.

The Police Department has increased patrols of both marked and unmarked police cars.

“I'd like to say in general in South Orange you are safe and the police department is there for you all the time and it's important that if you see something, say something,” he said. “We have a neighborhood watch that is second to none. If you think there is something going on, give us a call, we will be there.”

Chief Chelel also spoke about incidents in which three people were randomly punched in the face.

The two incidents seem to follow the trend of a game called “knockout” in which youths try to knock out passersby with one punch and steal their belongings.

“One promising thing is that we identified a person from Irvington involved in that,” he said. “We have a warrant for that person's arrest.”

Police believe the suspect from Irvington is responsible for all three incidents.

Chelel and members of the Board of Trustees discussed the thefts of cell phones and reminded residents to enable apps on their phones and computers that can be used to track them in the event of a theft.