FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 15th, 2022

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — Mayor candidate Charlie Kratovil is calling for more transparency in the wake of another homicide on the streets of New Brunswick.

Community members were shocked at the news of a murder near their homes on Seaman Street late last night, but authorities did not publish any notice through the city’s Nixle alert system or its social media channels. Kratovil has pledged to make the New Brunswick Police Department more transparent, accountable, and proactive as the city struggles with its crime problem.

The fatal stabbing is the city’s third homicide of the year, and at least the twelfth homicide since 2021. However, officials from the current administration, such as Police Director Anthony Caputo, have not appeared in public or addressed the growing crisis.

“My heart goes out to the victim and their loved ones. I continue to be outraged at the callous approach of the current administration. All sections of New Brunswick deserve transparency when it comes to violent crimes occurring in our neighborhoods,” said Kratovil.

While Rutgers University’s Police Department typically issues crime alerts any time a serious incident occurs on or near their campus, the New Brunswick Police Department has failed to provide the same level of timely transparency to residents and visitors in other parts of the city.

“The people of New Brunswick deserve answers, information, and access to those in power. Unlike other department heads, Director Caputo has not attended a single City Council meeting in over ten years, and that is unacceptable,” said Kratovil.

Kratovil is calling on Director Caputo to attend this evening’s City Council meeting, taking place at 5pm on the top floor of City Hall, located at 78 Bayard Street in downtown New Brunswick.

“The first step to solving a problem is admitting that you have one. New Brunswickers need our leaders to work towards meaningful solutions to this epidemic of violence, not push our problems under the rug or ignore the legitimate questions that residents are asking about the lack of transparency from NBPD.”