Depending on who you talk to, a recent anti-crime push with an emphasis on cracking down on auto thefts is either a rightful response to an increase in auto thefts and other crime in recent years, or politicians responding to public polling data — as opposed to actual crime data.
“What I’m afraid of is that we are on the precipice of fueling another era of mass incarceration,” said Amol Sinha, executive director of ACLU-NJ.
Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen) has put up several bills on auto theft for Senate consideration. “The senate plans on having a hearing just focused on auto theft. This is not about putting more [people in prison]. This is about cracking down on auto theft,” he said. And, said Sarlo, another prong in his anti-crime approach is a review of 2014 bail reform laws, which some critics say have opened the door to repeat offenders.
