On December 19, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony from invited guests concerning the increase in motor vehicle thefts in New Jersey over the last two years and consider a package of legislation.
Invited guests included Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella and Chief Detective Jason Love, New Jersey State Police Major Larry Williams, Deputy Attorney General Joseph Giordano, and Alexander Shalom, ACLU Senior Supervising Attorney and Director of Supreme Court Advocacy.
During their testimony, Prosecutor Musella and Detective Love shared the car theft encounters law enforcement have dealt with in Bergen County. They noted that the total number of auto theft cases has decreased to under 1,000 cases from the previous year, but the crimes have become more violent. They expressed their support for all the bills that were heard in committee aimed at curbing automotive theft.
Williams, Deputy Attorney Giordano, and Shalom all gave similar testimony points when before the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee. For more information on their testimony please our blog post.
Contact: Andrew LaFevre, Legislative Analyst, alafevre@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x116.