Police Ask for Public's Help in Solving Recent Rash of Burglaries

A recent spike in residential burglaries has not been confined to Moorestown, according to .

Speaking before township council Monday, Police Director Harry Johnson said Moorestown typically averages between three to four burglaries a month, which includes everything from residential burglaries to garage burglaries and vehicle thefts.

From October to January, there were 17 burglaries in town, according to Johnson, . There have also been a number of attempted burglaries,  

Similar spikes during the same period in surrounding communities like Cinnaminson (28), Maple Shade (20) and Mount Laurel (38) have local police pooling their resources to investigate. But Sgt. Lee Lieber said the burglaries around town and in town are not all connected.

“We’re not looking for just one group of people, even in our town,” he said. “We’re looking for at least two or three different persons or groups that are doing these burglaries.”

Lieber said many of the officers live in town, so it’s “not just like a job for us … We’re not satisfied just cause we have less than another town. We’d like to see none. That might be a pipe dream, but we’d certainly .”

The key to keeping it low? Residents have to chip in.

“If it looks suspicious, it is suspicious. Call us,” said Johnson. “We’d rather come out for nothing than coming late.”

Lieber said historically cases like the residential burglaries that have been plaguing Moorestown lately are solved when a watchful neighbor makes a phone call and police catch the burglar(s) in the act.

“If we just grouped together as a town, we could knock out a lot (of this),” said Johnson.

The township also recently hired four Class II Special officers—part-time cops with all the training of full-timers—to supplement patrols in the business community (Main Street, the mall), Johnson said. They’re expected to complete their 10-week training and hit the street by the end of April.

Police are also offering to perform check-ins on homes if the resident is going to be away for an extended period of time. Visit their website for more information on protecting your home. 

If you see something suspicious, call police at 856-234-8300. If you have information that could assist with a police investigation, call the tip/information line at 856-914-3092.

And of course, if you see a crime in progress, call 911 immediately.