Phil Murphy signs New Jersey bill toughening penalties for home burglaries

EDISON – Gov. Phil Murphy has signed legislation aimed at cracking down on criminals, including juveniles, who commit home invasions and burglaries by increasing prison sentences for those found guilty of these crimes.

Murphy, along with Mayor Sam Joshi and other political and law enforcement leaders, signed the bill Friday at the Edison Municipal Complex, making home invasion a first-degree felony and residential burglary a second-degree felony.

Those found guilty of home invasion now face 10 to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $200,000, or both. Burglary is when a person breaks into a house and causes bodily harm or is armed with a weapon.

Those found guilty of residential burglary now face five to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $150,000, or both.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing too many cases where this basic promise of safety is being violated in our homes and in our communities,” Murphy said, adding that there have been a number of families whose homes and properties have been raided in Edison over the past week were stolen.

Just a few days ago, said Murphy, Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Sgt. Monica Mosley was shot during a home invasion.

“This is a national dilemma. We are not unique, nor are we exempt,” said Murphy, who called the legislation “tough, tough medicine.”

Those found guilty of the new burglary offenses will be subject to the No Early Release Act, which requires a convict to serve at least 85% of the sentence before being eligible for parole.

Any person found guilty of house or apartment burglary may also be denied a professional license by the Consumer Affairs Division of the Ministry of Law and Public Safety.

“Our home is our sanctuary and holds the things we value most and the people we love most. When that sanctity is violated and that sense of security is destroyed, it leaves us with an overwhelming sense of helplessness and vulnerability,” said Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin.

Platkin said there has been a significant decrease in violent crime in New Jersey, but with the tougher penalties in the new law, New Jersey is taking another step in the fight against residential crime.

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The new law, which takes effect immediately, may not produce the intended results, said Todd Clear, a criminologist and distinguished professor at Rutgers Law School and the School of Criminal Justice on the Newark campus.

“Over the past 40 years, studies have found that there was little to no evidence of an additional deterrent effect when the law was changed to add years to previously required prison sentences,” Clear said. “Nevertheless, we often regretted the imposition of draconian sentences on minors who were themselves convicted of very serious crimes.”

While statewide figures from the Uniform Crime Report have not been compiled for 2023, the numbers from April to June 2023, which are the most recent figures available for Central Jersey, show there were 339 burglaries in Middlesex County, including 75 in Edison, 44 in Woodbridge and 43 in New Brunswick.

The report for Union County from April to June 2023 recorded 234 burglaries, including 68 in Elizabeth, 29 in Plainfield and 24 in Linden.

According to the Uniform Crime Report from April to June 2023, Somerset County had 83 burglaries, including 22 in Franklin and 19 in Warren, and Hunterdon County had 11 burglaries, including five in Readington.

While the new bill received bipartisan support in the state legislature, including from Central Jersey state legislators, Joshi also advocated for the bill and testified before state Senate and Assembly committees.

“I learned that the law in the state of New Jersey is not as deterrent as it should be,” Joshi said.

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He said Edison increased the number of patrol officers to 196 before turning to the state for help in dealing with the rising number of home burglaries, adding 100 license plate readers in the city and working with the state auto theft task force and K -9 units worked together.

But that’s not enough, he said, especially for young offenders, who are often back on the streets shortly after their arrest.

“The current laws sympathize more with the perpetrators than with the victims,” Joshi said. “Home invasions and burglaries not only violate our sense of security, but also leave lasting emotional scars on the victims. This law sends a strong message that these crimes will not be tolerated in our community.”

Last year, three teenagers tried to break into Kiran Arora’s Edison home around 4 a.m. with a crowbar by ripping off her back deck door. She ran down the stairs and toward them to protect her home as they got into a waiting vehicle. For months she woke up at every noise.

“I was very scared because like every mother and wife, it was really traumatic. I’ve never seen anything like that, you’re not prepared. Anything could have happened,” said Arora, who believes the new law will serve as a deterrent.

“If you can commit the crime, you can definitely pay the time. I don’t care how old you are,” she said.

According to Joshi, young people aged 15 and over who commit home invasions and burglaries face prison sentences of up to 20 years.

“I think it serves as a deterrent. I believe in social justice reform, I believe in tackling social and economic inequality, but it doesn’t change the fact that we need deterrents to crime and that’s what this new law is about,” Joshi said.

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Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter at MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other chaos. For full access, subscribe or activate your digital account today.

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