CLIFTON – The increase in reported crime from the La Quinta Inn and Suites parking lot on Route 3 has City leaders asking whether more police presence is needed.
A report given to City officials at the June 4 Council meeting, shows the City Police Department logged 181 calls for response from January to May — a 35 percent increase from 2007. The jump in calls is the result of an increase in auto thefts in the adjacent parking lot, according to Police and City officials.
The incidents mirror a trend that has plagued the Route 3 corridor and the hotel parking lot for years. But, in the past six weeks, the calls have actually decreased from that section of the City, according to a Police Department spokesperson.
The 240-room inn advertises clean and affordable accommodations for travelers. It is also the temporary home for some students of Montclair State University (MSU) during the academic year because of limited dormitory space on the school’s campus. The hotel and parking lot are also joined with the Red Robin chain restaurant.
Earlier this year, police responded to a stabbing at the hotel when a group of Passaic residents rented a room to hold a party which was attended by some "uninvited guests," Clifton Police detective Capt. Robert Rowan said.
Most of the incidents are concentrated in the building’s parking lot though, where vehicles containing items like navigation systems are easy targets.
Two months ago, the Street Crimes unit reported a high number of vehicles being broken into in the parking lot of the Red Robin, Rowan said. Surveillance cameras helped police track at least one vehicle responsible for many of the break-ins. The suspects were chased all the way to Newark but were never apprehended, Rowan said.
Since then the number of incidents has actually declined, Rowan said, leading police to believe the suspects were the ones responsible for many of the break-ins.
"Generally, the last few weeks have been relatively quiet," Rowan said.
Rowan said the recent criminal activity that has occurred on the hotel property is "nothing out of the ordinary."
"There are occasionally vehicles broken into there as is not uncommon along the Route 3 corridor," Rowan said. He added, "It’s the location there."
He attributed the activity to the hotel’s proximity to heavily traveled Route 3, with easy access to back roads and Route 21 that connects Clifton to Newark. Similar incidents are frequent in the store parking lots at Clifton Commons along eastbound Route 3, especially during the holiday season. In 2007, more than 900 calls were made for police assistance just from the Commons. However not all were made for vehicle thefts.
At least one marked police unit regularly patrols the parking lot at La Quinta and Red Robin. City Manager Al Greco said the Council would consider asking MSU police to monitor the property if further investigation showed students were responsible for the burglaries.
So far, the robberies have not been linked to any MSU students rooming at the hotel.
A spokeswoman for MSU said the University Police Department does not patrol the hotel because it is not school property. Officers are available for back up if needed, she said.
A stronger presence from Clifton’s force would depend on the Chief of Police’s recommendations, Greco added.
Educating the public is also part of the battle, Rowan said. Though the occasional call is for a stolen vehicle, most are just the result of vandals smashing windows and breaking locks to get into the vehicles.
"We try to warn people not to leave items in their cars," he said.
