Rise In Pedestrian Accidents & Crime Data Discussed At Summit Meeting

SUMMIT, NJ — The rise in pedestrian vehicle accidents, as well as overall crime trends, were addressed at the Summit Common Council meeting Tuesday night.

In the last week, two separate pedestrian accidents occurred in the City. A 10-year-old boy was hit by a car while walking on a crosswalk at the intersection of Deforest Avenue and Woodland Avenue on Friday, Feb. 3, and an intoxicated man was hit while crossing Summit Avenue near the Village Green.

Mayor Nora Radest said, "Enforcement efforts are ongoing and have been increased, and we continue to look at ways to re-engineer and improve roadways."

In her recent letter to the editor, Radest said too many people are driving too fast or cross the street without paying adequate attention to what is happening around them.

The Summit Police Department and city Engineering Division have redesigned several roadways with a focus on traffic calming and getting drivers to slow down by narrowing lanes, installing all-way stops at key intersections and speed humps, according to the letter to the editor.

Radest said City agencies are continuing to work together to improve streets and intersections in areas in and adjacent to the downtown and other high traffic areas.

"Most importantly, we are asking you to look out for one another," Radest said.

Crime Trends In Summit

Police Chief Steven Zagorski also shared some current crime trends in Summit, comparing it to historical data.

In terms of violent crime, which includes murder, sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault, Zagorski said these incidents remain low in Summit. In the last 15 years, Zagorski said around eight to 10 violent crimes happen in a given year.

A chart shows that Summit had around 11 violent crimes in 2021, and around six in 2022.

Burglary has also declined significantly in Summit since the 90s. Whereas 174 burglaries occurred in 1990, a total of 19 occurred in Summit in 2022, according to Zagorski.

Throughout this period, Zagorski said Summit has always been known as one of the safest towns in Union County and in the state.

Car Thefts

While motor vehicle theft has historically been on the decline over the past 30 years, Zagorski said 26 cars were stolen out of Summit in 2022.

Overall, the crime index total — which takes into account all violent crime, simple assault, larceny and motor vehicle theft — in 2022 was 257, which is slightly higher than it was in 2021 at 231.

Zagorski said this higher index is partially due to officers asking residents to check their Ring security cameras, which often revealed attempted thefts of their vehicles.

To respond to the increased car thefts since start of the pandemic in 2020, Zagorski said police increased its patrols in residential areas, both high visibility and covert, along with increased surveillance in targeted areas. Summit Police also introduced an "aggressive public awareness campaign" to encourage people to lock their cars and remove the key fobs from inside.

Over the past year, Summit Police has made 18 arrests of suspected car thieves, which Zagorski said was a combination of adults and juveniles. In addition, on at least 38 separate occasions, Summit Police officers have encountered these criminals and chased them out of town, preventing the thefts.

Zagorski said 22 of the 26 stolen vehicles were recovered last year.

Over the last five months, Zagorski said only one car has been stolen from the residential area. This does not include to the two cars that were stolen from the Aston Martin dealership in January.

"We're still experiencing [attempted thefts], but they are fewer and far between," Zagorski said.

Zagorski said there were recently attempted thefts in parking lots of apartment complexes, which criminals previously avoided as those residents tend to lock their cars.

"To me, it's an indication that the well has run dry. They're getting desperate and they're trying locations that they normally wouldn't try," Zagorski said.

Residential Burglaries

Zagorski added that there has been a recent uptick in residential burglaries, as four occurred in December and two reported in January. He said all but one appear to be the work of organized burglary crews.

Most of these burglaries have been occurring in North Summit residential areas along the Route 22 corridor, and Zagorski said the residences have been unoccupied at the time of burglaries. Forced entry has been used to enter the homes by going through the rear of the house, Zagorski said.

Typically, three to four individuals are involved in each burglary, and they have been stealing jewelry and cash, according to Zagorski.

Summit Police are using the same increased patrol methods to address this issue.

When people ask him if Summit is a safe town, Zagorski said his answer has been the same over the last 33 years.

"Summit is a great town, it's a safe town," Zagorski said. "But I always say, it's a small city with 22,000 people with two major highways and a major rail system going through it. So you can't be naive to think nothing is going to happen."

Check out the full council meeting on YouTube.