IRVINGTON, NJ — Although summer officially ends on Saturday, Sept. 22, Labor Day and the start of the new school year mark the changing of seasons for many. In Irvington, it was the third consecutive year without any summer homicides.
Former Mayor Wayne Smith coined the phrase “summer spike” to describe the annual increase in crime in town, which occurs during the summer months when the temperature increases, the weather gets better and the public schools close for two months. Prior to 2014, however, township officials had not implemented a policing strategy specifically to address this increase.
This changed after Mayor Tony Vauss took office and tapped former Irvington Police Department Capt. Tracy Bowers to be first his police director and then his Public Safety Department director. Both men said their summer policing plan to deal with the “summer spike” has been a success since 2014, and they plan to continue that progress.
“Yes, we are so excited that, for the third year in a row, there’s been no homicides during the summer in Irvington,” said Vauss on Monday, Sept. 10. “We have also seen historic crime lows for the last three years in our town. I credit my administration, the public safety director, Public Safety Department and all the residents of Irvington for making this a successful summer crime plan.”
Bowers echoed Vauss’ sentiments and enthusiasm.
“The summer plan for 2018 was a success,” said Bowers on Monday, Sept. 10. “The men and women of the Irvington Police Department continue to work hard, along with the township’s residents, who report crime and provide crime information when we need it. It’s a partnership that I value that results in a better community to live in and less victims of crime.”
According to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Irvington has suffered four homicides so far this year.
“We got a total of four for the year so far,” said Vauss on Monday, Aug. 20. “We had a couple near our borders, but it’s where you actually died at, not where the crime took place, that counts when it comes to police and the authorities. People get shot in Newark or one of the other municipalities that we share a border with, then run into Irvington and die. It’s where the person expires.”
Irvington had 11 homicides in 2015, four in 2016, and six in 2017.
In 2016, township and county officials said Irvington only had four homicides; its first was in May and then the town went another five months without another killing until the other three all occurred in October.
Vauss and Bowers said that long span of time in 2016 between the township’s first homicide and the others marked the turning of the tide, in terms of the new administration living up to its campaign promise to make Irvington “clean and safe.”
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