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The overflowing crowds at the Nov. 5 Town Hall meeting in Edison were a testament to the shock and anger that is brewing in New Jersey’s Middlesex County, following a series of home invasions in Old Bridge, South Plainfield and Edison in less than two weeks around the Diwali festival. “The number of people that are here should tell you how we feel,” Peter Kothari, president and founder of the Edison-based Indo-American Cultural Society, told The Star-Ledger, about the overflow crowd at the town hall-style event in Edison Council Chambers. “We are all scared. We need answers.”
The forum will be followed by “Securing Your Homes and Neighborhoods,” a televised seminar to be presented by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s and the Indian Business Association at TV Asia studios in Edison, myCentralJersey.com reported. A panel discussion will include Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey and local law enforcement. Authorities from the FBI and state police have also been invited, the prosecutor’s office said. The seminar likely will be followed by a larger community meeting at an Edison high school.
At the Nov. 5 meeting, State Sen. Peter J. Barnes III and Edison Councilman Sudhanshu Prasad and Councilwoman Sapana Shah, who co-organized the forum with other council members, Mayor Thomas Lankey, and Police Chief Thomas Bryan, offered suggestions in addition to those presented by the authorities and residents. Prasad agreed that the problem goes beyond the South Asian community and authorities and residents must come together to solve it and suggested that the council’s Public Safety Committee add a diversity of residents. Shah suggested that the township vigorously pursue state funds or grant money to install intersection surveillance cameras. Mayor Lankey said he will be talking to recently re-elected Sen. Cory Booker, who offered to help.
Those attending the meeting were told that local police are working with the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, the New Jersey State Police and the FBI to catch the thieves. However, authorities also stressed the importance of neighbors looking out for each other, and everyone staying vigilant and aware of their surroundings when they go shopping, get out of their cars and enter their homes.
Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan, who answered questions for more than two hours, said then Edison police are doing everything they can to respond to the residents’ concerns. Residents themselves play a role, too, he said. “You are our ears and eyes in keeping you safe,” Bryan said, encouraging residents to take precautions and report suspicious activities.
While many in the crowd were there to seek answers and get assurance from the authorities, there were several others who felt the police were not doing much. “This presentation has been given three times before and honestly, I’m displeased at seeing the same exact thing, it’s like nothing is ever being done,” New Jersey 101.5 quoted an un-named Edison resident as saying. “There’s a simple solution: Put more cops on the road, have more police officers on the streets. We need not just accountability, we need action. That’s the proper step to take,” he added.
Four home invasions took place between Oct. 20 and Oct. 30 in Old Bridge, South Plainfield and Edison. In each case, two or more armed men in masks forced entry into homes and restrained the residents, including children, and stole cash, electronics and jewelry, Jim O’Neill, public information officer at the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s office told News India Times. Although no injuries were reported, one victim in Old Bridge was taken to the hospital and later released, O’Neill said.
