October 22, 2021; Theft from Auto; During the overnight hours a vehicle parked in an apartment complex on Elmwood Ave had the catalytic converter stolen from it.
October 24, 2021; Motor Vehicle Theft; Between 9 pm and 4 am a vehicle was stolen from Franklin Ave. It was recovered in South Orange prior to the victim becoming aware of the theft.
October 25, 2021; Bicycle Thefts; Two bicycles were reportedly stolen from Columbia High School during the daytime hours.
October 26, 2021; Bicycle Theft; A resident of Elsman Terr responded to Police Headquarters and reported a bicycle stolen from their unsecured garage.
October 26, 2021; Motor Vehicle Theft; A vehicle left running at 7-11 on Irvington Ave was stolen at approximately 5:30 pm.
October 27, 2021; Burglary; At approximately 3:30 am a male made entry to the nail salon on Irvington Ave and stole the ATM machine.
October 27, 2021; Burglary to Building/Vehicle; Between 9:30 pm and 10 pm the rear door of a building on Springfield Ave, along with a vehicle parked in the lot, were forcibly entered. Packages left in the vehicle were removed.
October 28, 2021; Motor Vehicle Theft; A vehicle was parked at the Bank of America at Springfield Ave and Jacoby St. The vehicle was left unattended and running. When the owner returned from the bank, the vehicle had been stolen.
October 28, 2021; Robbery; At approximately 11:15 pm a female walking in the area of 630 Irvington Ave was approached by a male wearing a hoodie and full ski mask. The male threatened to shoot the female if she did not give him her purse, but no weapon was shown. He entered a dark colored vehicle and fled with the purse. The victim was not injured.
November 3, 2021; Motor vehicle Theft; During the early morning hours a vehicle left unsecured with the key fob inside was stolen from Collinwood Rd.
November 3, 2021; Motor Vehicle Theft; At approximately 2 pm a vehicle left running outside of Wawa was stolen.
November 4, 2021; Theft from Auto; Between the hours of 6:30 pm and 8 pm, an unsecured vehicle parked on Orchard Rd near Hillcrest Rd was entered and a wallet was stolen.
November 4, 2021; Trespassing; At approximately 7:45 pm a resident of Hillcrest Rd observed three males inside of his unsecured vehicle. The males were scared off by the resident.
November 5, 2021; Vehicle Rummage; A vehicle parked on Williams St unsecured was entered and gone through. Nothing was reported missing at the time of the report.
November 6, 2021; Fraud/Theft; An employee at Quick Chek allowed a customer to use her cell phone. Once returned she discovered that the individual had sent themselves money through her Cash app.
November 6, 2021; Vehicle Theft; A vehicle being rented out by a resident using the Toro app was acquired fraudulently. It was picked up by an individual using a fraudulent account.
November 10, 2021; Bicycle Theft; At approximately 8:30 pm an individual entered the parking garage of an apartment complex on Springfield Ave and stole a bicycle.
November 19, 2021; at approximately 11:10 am a male wearing a hooded sweatshirt and mask entered the Walgreens on Springfield Ave. The male selected several items and then went to the counter. When the employee opened the register, the male leaned across the counter and demanded the employee empty the register. While doing this, he had one of his hands inside of a bag which made the employee feel as though he may be armed. The suspect then took the cash out of the register and fled into the parking lot. He entered a dark colored vehicle and fled towards Burnett Ave. The male never threatened the employee or made physical contact with them and no weapon was observed. The incident is currently being investigated by the Detective Bureau.
The Maplewood Police Department works hard to protect the residents and their property. We are asking that you assist us in this effort by making sure all vehicles and homes are properly secured at all times. All charges are merely accusations. Each suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Thank You
June 3rd, 2020
To Our Maplewood Community,
As Chief of the Maplewood Police, I would like to address the horrific murder of George Floyd at the hand of Police Officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Firstly, I would like to offer my deepest condolences to the entire Floyd family for their tragic loss. I am personally outraged at this senseless loss of life. This man died as result of an accusation that he passed a counterfeit $20.00 bill. I am having trouble grasping the reality of this situation. If $20.00 is the value of a human life, then nobody is safe. George Floyd was treated without regard for humanity. There are no excuses for what happened to Mr. Floyd. He was handcuffed, held down by multiple officers, one of which had their knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck and made him suffer as he gasped for air and pleaded for help. These officers must be held responsible for their actions including those who just stood by and did not help Mr. Floyd.
In full transparency, I must acknowledge this Police Department has dealt with complaints of excessive force and misconduct in the past. I recognized that this history would change the relationship between Police and the community for many years to come. As the new Police Chief, I assembled a team of qualified diverse officers to help change the culture in the Police Department. There was no room for excuses or denial. We have learned a great many things along the way and that the officers would not accept change easily. Rebuilding trust and relationships in the community could not be set on a timetable and would have to be earned.
The Department established goals and objectives as part of this change in culture.
Why do these types of tragedies continue to happen?
Simply, it is a lack of vision, accountability and follow up. Change in department policy must be real and not just politics. And it must be accompanied with a comprehensive plan.
Law Enforcement Executives can expect that there will be limited or no help from outside agencies.
First there must be acknowledgement that change is necessary.
The department must commit to change as we stand shoulder and shoulder with our community.
The Law Enforcement Executive should prepare a plan to the Appropriate Authority for review.
A plan with goals, objectives, timelines, accountability requirements and ways to measure the effectiveness of not only the plan but its implementation. The plan must be publicly available for the entire community to read. It is crucial for the Law Enforcement Executive and the entire Command Staff to know all aspects of the plan. They will have to deliver a unified message to all personnel on how they can take personal ownership in their part of the plan. The plan must include reporting from the Law Enforcement Executive to be effective. There must be a performance evaluation mechanism for the Law Enforcement Executive as well.
To enact change and provide true justice, employment laws need to be changed or strengthened to make it easier to terminate officers before a tragedy occurs.
The public is outraged and rightfully so because they don’t trust or believe that anything will change.
Take responsibility!
Hold people accountable! Be accountable!
Don’t defend or make excuses for bad officers!
Don’t ignore what is right in front of you!
Don’t let this happen in your community!
Take a stand for what is best for our community!
Respectfully,
Chief DeVaul
11/17/2021
IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING TRAFFIC AND PARKING AT CHS FROM CHIEF JIM DEVAUL.
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