Police & Fire
By RICHARD K. REIN
August 12, 2025
Princeton, NJ – Once you learn, you can never forget how to ride a bicycle, right?Well, that’s right, but you may not have really learned how to ride a bike properly and safely with respect to the rules of the road that apply to bicycle riders. And, if you are not a bicyclist but a motorist, you ...
Princeton, NJ —July was a good month for those traveling through Princeton on foot or by wheel. They weren’t involved in any crashes with motor vehicles. However, things were less rosy for drivers trying to pass through narrow streets and busy intersections, where more than a few bumpers and wing ...
Princeton, NJ – “Theft by deception” may soon be getting frequent flyer status in our police blotter archives. We have had at least 10 instances reported so far this year, with losses of $334,000, $282,000, and $169,530 (the last one in gold coins), among others, registered by scammers preying on ...
Princeton, NJ – We seem to have had a rash of bicycle thefts lately – a pleasant change from the days when cars, sometimes very expensive cars, were being heisted from driveways all over Princeton – sometimes with very tragic results.But the reality can’t be pleasant for the bike owners, who ...
Princeton, NJ – Here’s one Tesla showing up in the police blotter that might not get “stickered” with an anti-Elon Musk political statement but instead might get some other attention – from law enforcement. On July 20, shortly after 3 p.m., according to Princeton police, the store manager of a ...
Princeton, NJ -- Two downtown businesses were targeted by shoplifters – one on Hulfish Street and another one around the corner on Palmer Square West. At 2:20 p.m. on July 8 officers responded to the Hulfish Street business following a report of shoplifting that occurred approximately five minutes ...
Princeton, NJ - This summer’s Texas tragedy, where more than a hundred people died in a flash flood, brings renewed focus to a risk faced by many communities, including Princeton. Floods happen, and they can be deadly. So what should Princeton residents know about their own risks?First, while it ...
Princeton, NJ — Pedestrians continue to have a tough time on Princeton’s roads. Last month, there were three cases of pedestrians being struck in crosswalks. In one of those cases, the driver hit two pedestrians and drove away. Another pedestrian crash had elements eerily similar to the fatality ...
Princeton, NJ – Two men with Princeton addresses were subjects of reports from out-of-town police agencies. Authorities in Bucks County reported early this week that a submerged Tesla had been discovered by a rowing coach in the waters of Lake Luxembourg at Core Creek Park in Middletown Township on ...
Princeton, NJ – Kids this month have two opportunities to see Princeton Police in action.The Princeton Police Youth Academy will be held from Tuesday, July 29, through Thursday, July 31, running daily from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. According to the Princeton Police Facebook page, this hands on, ...
Princeton, NJ – With some serious crime going on around town, especially some identity thefts documented in the police blotter below, it seems a shame to ask Princeton police to enforce what some common sense and simple courtesy could achieve – bicyclists and scooter riders of any age getting off ...
Princeton, NJ – After several years of a Vision Zero initiative to eliminate serious injuries on Princeton’s roadways simmering on various back burners, the municipality has just officially launched its Vision Zero Initiative. As announced in the municipal newsletter on Thursday, June 26, the ...
Princeton, NJ – For the past two weeks, the Princeton Police Department has posted a “friendly reminder" on its Facebook page. The reminder is about Ordinance B8-4, “which prohibits riding bikes, scooters, skateboards, and roller skates on sidewalks in certain areas of Princeton.”In other words, ...
Princeton, NJ – The storm that tore through Princeton on Thursday evening, June 19, did not require deployment of the new high-water rescue vehicle (reported on one day earlier in TAPinto Princeton) but it still wreaked havoc with high winds, fallen trees, and power lines down.Between the early ...
Princeton, NJ — This spring may have been wetter than normal, but the gloomy weather has two bright sides.The first is that New Jersey rained itself out of its months-long drought warning. According to the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, water supplies have returned to normal levels for ...
Princeton, NJ – Matthew R. Solovay, a captain in the Princeton Police Department, was one of 239 law enforcement officers who graduated last week from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. The 294th session of the National Academy consisted of men and women from 48 states and the District ...
Princeton, NJ — We knew our luck couldn’t last. In April, Princeton saw zero crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists. In May, we saw five. This past month, three pedestrians were struck by cars in crosswalks, while two cyclists — one of whom was a child — were also hit. In our seventh monthly ...
Oh Lord won’t you buy back, my Tesla EV?My friends all hate Elon, I have to agree.Worked hard all my lifetime, to be kindly and woke.Oh Lord won’t you buy me a Chevrolet Volt?-- With apologies to Janis Joplin (1943-1970).Princeton, NJ – We suspect that more than a few Princeton Tesla owners are ...
Princeton, NJ – Judging from the response we have seen on social media, a story about a bruise or bump delivered to a Tesla is ripe for lots of comments and a proportional number of clicks. We’ve got some more of that clickbait below, but first some items from the latest Princeton police blotter ...
Princeton, NJ – Not so many months ago, we used to wonder who in Princeton did not drive a Tesla. On streets where Mercedes and Volvos once roamed, Teslas were omnipresent. More recently, for reasons we can only guess, Teslas still cruise around town, but often they bear a sticker, or two: “I love ...
Princeton, NJ — Two weeks ago, the Princeton Police Department’s Facebook page lit up when the cops asked for help. They were seeking a red Subaru, whose driver had struck a pedestrian on a crosswalk. The crash occurred on March 25 on South Harrison Street when the victim entered the road from the ...
Princeton, NJ – Notes of interest, possibly, from the May 13 police blotter:From Loaner to Goner? A Mulberry Row resident reported on May 7 that about two months ago he had loaned his car to a former co-worker but had not heard from him since. The car was valued at $40,000. The former co-worker, ...
Princeton, NJ – Ask traffic planners and engineers what the keys are to safe streets, and they may tell you that it’s the three Es: Engineering, Enforcement, and Education. They may also tell you that they pretty much have engineering under control – roads and sidewalks have been planned to the ...
Princeton, NJ — Bravo Princeton! For the first time since we began summarizing the police crash reports, last month saw zero Princeton crashes involving pedestrians, cyclists, or scooter riders. Following an especially tragic March, April’s absence of traffic violence against vulnerable road users ...
Princeton, NJ – May is the month for the national “Click It or Ticket” campaign. The “click it” refers to the sound of the seat belt being buckled. While the Princeton Police Department will be on the lookout for seat belt violations, the officers will alsop have their eyes open for other crimes ...
Princeton, NJ – An alert went out on the Princeton Police Department’s Facebook page on Thursday afternoon, May 1, requesting the public’s help in identifying the driver and vehicle involved in a hit-and-run collision that occurred on South Harrison Street near the marked crosswalk at the D&R ...
Princeton, NJ – On the fifth day of searching, authorities finally located the missing Princeton University student, Lauren Blackburn. “I am deeply saddened to share with you that the body of Lauren Blackburn ’26 was found at Lake Carnegie this morning,” Regan Crotty, dean of undergraduate ...
Editor's note: Princeton is not known as a gun-carrying town. But firearms are around us. In 2024, the police issued 108 permits to purchase firearms, 49 ID cards, and 12 permits to carry firearms. Those numbers were similar to the record in 2023. So the press release below about a firearms safety ...
Princeton, NJ – Before we file the weekly Princeton Police blotter, we will note that as of Wednesday, April 23, at 10 p.m. the Princeton University Department of Public Safety had issued no new information about its search for Lauren Blackburn, a student in the Class of 2026, who has been reported ...
Princeton, NJ – When a Princeton pedestrian was struck by a motorist on January 24 on Paul Robeson Place, little was known about the victim, not even his name. When the pedestrian later died from his injuries, more information became available.As reporter Carolyn Jones wrote in TAPinto Princeton ...