Police Working With Cranford PD on Burglaries Spanning Both Towns

Burglaries spanning both sides of the Westfield/Cranford townline along Springfield Avenue has resulted in increased communication between the two police departments.

Police Captain David Wayman said the two burglaries on January 15 in Cranford were similar to the January 31 burglaries on Michael Drive and Woodbrook Circle. The Cranford burglaries, on Pawnee Drive and Rutgers Road in the township's College Estates neighborhood, are on the other side of a set of trees from the location of the two Westfield burglaries.

In the Cranford burglaries, the suspect or suspects entered windows in the rear of the residences sometime between 6 and 11 p.m. when the residents were not home. Cash, jewelry and flat screen televisions were taken from one of the homes. Police say jewelry might have been taken from the other.

In the Westfield burglaries, access to the residences was gained via forcing open a sliding glass door and a window. A total of over $5,000 in cash and computers was taken from the two homes. The burglaries have followed the pattern of being close to major highways. Michael Drive and Woodbrook Circle are roughly halfway between two on-ramps to Route 22 and exit 138 of the Garden State Parkway.

Wayman did not say if there is an indication the burglaries were connected to the same person.

The Cranford burglaries has led the Brookside Place School PTA to send out a warning letter to parents about a rise in crime. In the e-mai to parents, PTA officials note that in one case the lightbulbs on the residence were taken. The Brookside School e-mail also lists a burglary in the township where a burglar may have been in the house when the resident returned home. Cranford police did not confirm a burglary fitting that description. The Brookside school zone in Cranford borders the Washington School district in Westfield.