Last night, HPD representatives met with a small group of citizens concerned about an outbreak of violent crime near the 2nd Street Light Rail station at HPD Police Headquarters on Hudson street. There have been several incidents involving armed robbery and assault in that area since October 2008. Hoboken has a very low rate of violent crime compared to other municipalities in the area so when a cluster of incidents happens like this, it really stands out in the mind of citizens.In attendance were the following: Acting Chief Robert Lisa, Captain Fitzsimmons, Lt. Ferrenti, Sgt. Jim Marnell and other officers. From NJ Transit, Captain Patrick Clark also made himself available for the hour long meeting. Councilwomen Dawn Zimmer, Tim Carol from Hoboken reporter as well as the the citizen organizer of the meeting Frances Jennings.
Acting Chief Lisa talked about a mutli-faceted response to the address the issue including more patrols, better lighting, additional cameras with better night vision, community policing and other tactics that for reasons of security he could not go into detail on. There were many good questions asked by those in attendance and the police officers and chief listened intently as well.
My comments: I felt that those in attendance got some good information and some comfort that steps were being taken to remedy this problem. The general assessment to this point is that it is most likely youths from Jersey City coming down to the light rail station to commit these crimes. I was very impressed with Acting Chief Robert Lisa and the HPD for being open and communicative with the community.
Other facts I learned were that the Hoboken Police Department took in over 70,000 calls in 2008 and quite a few agencies are responsible for some aspect of Hoboken Including the HPD, Stevens Tech, Sheriff's Office, NJ Transit, State Police, etc.
Below is one of the flyers the HPD handed out concerning Public Safety:
◦
