Edward Eldred

EDWARD WIETT ELDRED III was a career officer in the Camden Police Department. His grandparents, Edward and Lydia Eldred, had come to Camden sometime after 1930 and had settled at 231 North 3rd Street by 1942. Edward Eldred III was born in Camden on April 1, 1943 to Alma and Edward W. Eldred Jr. His family was living at 505 Dudley Street in Westfield Acres.

After serving in the United States Army Edward Eldred joined the force in 1966. He was living at 1014 Kenwood Avenue in Parkside when, while on duty in 1967, he was involved in a car accident while riding with Officer Robert Bergman.

Edward Eldred married Helen Miller around 1971 and moved to Sicklerville NJ shortly thereafter, where they raised three children.

During his time on the Camden Department, Edward Eldred served in the internal affairs and patrol divisions. He retired as a sergeant in 1994 after serving 28 years.

After a long illness, Edward W. Eldred III passed away on November 28, 2006. He was survived by his wife Helen and three children, Danielle, Courtney, and Stephen.

A Camden patrolman is hurried to a waiting ambulance following the crash of a patrol car against a utility pole at 10th and Federal Streets last night during chase of another car. Patrolman Robert Bergman, 23, of 3148 Waldorf Avenue, the driver, and Patrolman Edward Eldred 3rd, 24, of 1014 Kenwood Avenue, were injured. Bergman broke his nose and suffered multiple cuts, and Eldred sustained a back injury.

SWIRLING winds yesterday were blamed for “bottoms up” compact car on Admiral Wilson Boulevard. John Sewell, 22, of 1249 Kaighns Avenue, driver of the car, told police the car was picked up by a gust of wind and dropped on its top. Patrolman Edward Eldred reaches for his cap before it’s “hats off.”

At far right: Officer Mike Lupico.

Camden Police Receiving Training

Camden City swore in 21 new patrolmen yesterday.

The new policemen were hired under $1.2 million in state funding provided by the Safe and Clean Streets program for a total of 92 foot patrolmen.

With the 21 new recruits, the city has now hired 60 of the 92 boosting the total police strength to 364 men, according to Public Safety Director David Kelly.

At the same swearing in ceremony in the office of Mayor Angelo J. Errichetti seven patrolmen were advanced to sergeant and two fire captains were promoted to battalion chief.

The new sergeants are Edward Eldred, 30, of Sicklerville, John M. Koslowski, 27, of Audubon, Richard DiAuria, 32, of Pennsauken, Dennis Keegan, 27, of Mantua, and William Murray, 45, Mark Grandsden, 31, and John Phoenix, 43, all of Camden.

The new battalion chiefs are Kenneth Penn, 30, of Williamstown, and James McMaster, 33, of Camden.

The new patrolmen will undergo 12 weeks of police training before going on regular patrol duty.

By Ken Shuttleworth of the Courier-Post

Statistics compiled by police in Camden city show nearly 300 stolen cars had been coming into the city each month late last year and early this year. They were being taken from the many shopping centers, apartment complexes and parking lots throughout the county.

The problem was so pervasive the FBI ranked Camden among its national leaders.

“Stolen cars were coming into the city in caravans,” said Captain Ralph Ferrari, commander of the city detective division and the man who formulated the plan that has cut auto thefts by more than 30 percent in the first two months of operation.

Ferrari said the situation got so bad that “something had to be done — something aggressive, something ambitious.”

Camden’s response, “Operation Mattel,” was launched January 8.

“We thought the name appropriate since we were dealing with the same thing that made that toymaker famous — Hot Wheels,” Ferrari explained.

“Unfortunately, we’ve found a lot of juveniles involved,” Ferrari said. “Smart kids, intelligent individuals. If they would exercise their brains, their capabilities in school, they’d probably be great students.

“The kids know they’re being used by adults to avoid the risk of arrest. But the prospect of getting anywhere between $100 to $300 a car is a temptation most teenagers can’t ignore, especially kids from families of low or no income. The juveniles aren’t concerned about being arrested because they know they’ll get a slap on the wrist.”

The “Operation Mattel” task force is headed by Eldred and includes representatives from the Cherry Hill, Gloucester Township and Voorhees police departments, Port Authority Transit Corp., PATCO security officials and Eldred’s experienced city squad.

Eldred says the biggest problem is catching the thieves.

“We’ve discovered that we are dealing with quite a sophisticated operation. It has taken some innovation to overcome the contingencies these car thieves have incorporated into their overall plan,” he said.

“Target areas have been identified. Routes to and from these areas are determined in advance. Escape routes are even plotted,” he added.

Despite the refinements, the joint effort of “Operation Mattel” is beginning to put a sizable dent in auto thefts, and Eldred attributes this to new techniques developed during the crackdown.

“It used to be that stolen car reports were turned in with the rest of an officer’s records at the end of his shift,” he explained. “But we’ve found that issuing an immediate alert and a description of the stolen car as soon as it’s received frequently can lead to a quick recovery.

“If a car is not recovered within the first 10 or 15 minutes of its theft, there’s a good chance it might never turn up.”

Eldred offered the case of Robert Pacheco as an example. A police raid this month on a pair of connecting garages rented by Pacheco in Camden uncovered car parts, including a car frame. The frame was traced to a car reported missing barely 48 hours earlier.

“That’s how fast they can disassemble a car,” Eldred said.

Stealing one is just as easy, according to the police official.

“Car thieves don’t even use Slim Jims anymore,” Eldred said, referring to the flat metal bars that can release a door lock by being slipped through the rubber gasket of a car’s window. “The thieves have become so proficient with coat hangers that they can be inside a vehicle in 10 to 15 seconds. Starting a car has become equally easy to a person who knows the mechanics of the operations within a steering column.”

Eldred declined to elaborate but said the knowledge he has gained through “Operation Mattel” has enabled him to start a car without an ignition key within 30 seconds.

“These people (car thieves) are so clever that they carry blank keys with them to insert into the ignition in case they are stopped by police who might want to know how the driver got the car going without a key,” he said.

Everything is very calculated from beginning to end. “Car thieves know where they’re going and what they’re looking for. They get there by using the High-Speed Line or car pooling. Four or five steal an old clunker in town and drive out to the suburbs. They abandon the old car, each returning to the city in a newer stolen vehicle.”

“In some cases where a thief believes he might have been spotted, we have discovered that he drives the vehicle to another shopping mall. Then he meanders through the shops until he feels it safe enough to drive home.”

Eldred said police don’t give up their search for a stolen vehicle after their immediate efforts prove negative and points to one case in which police found a stolen car in a North Camden vacant lot as an example.

“The area was somewhat open and we were concerned that it could aid a suspect’s escape, so we disabled the car and waited,” he said. “When the suspects encountered difficulty in starting the vehicle we had time to position ourselves and make an arrest.”

But things aren’t always that easy. “Many times, we have to pursue these people at speeds over 80 miles an hour on city streets,” Eldred said. “The latest thing is that when a suspect realizes he has no chance of getting away, he just jumps out of the car and lets it keep rolling.”

Remote vacant lots and abandoned buildings in North and East Camden are the most frequent drop areas.

The thieves’ favorite makes and models include the most popular domestic autos: Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Buick Regal, Oldsmobile Cutlass and Pontiac Grand Prix. The Datsun, Toyota and Mazda are favored among foreign cars.

Once stolen, the cars are driven into some of Camden’s abandoned buildings, where they are stripped of accessories such as radios and clocks and other equipment such as batteries and tires. About 20 percent of the cars stolen end up in chop shops and frequently are never seen again.

Eldred said “Operation Mattel” has not only improved the recovery rate of stolen cars, but that arrest rates are up as well. “We are averaging at least six arrests a week,” he said.

CAMDEN — During the year 1984, the City of Camden was plagued with an increasing number of auto thefts. This was not a problem confined to the city but also a state and national problem.

During 1984, Camden received 1,834 auto theft reports. Also during that year, 1,075 autos had been stolen outside the city and recovered in Camden.

In January 1985, with the cooperation of other police agencies in the Camden County area, a special Auto Theft Task Force was put into operation to combat this problem.

The following Police Departments assigned their men on a full-time basis: Camden Police Department Sergeant Edward Eldred, Detective Clifford Leary, Patrolman Ronald Miller, and Patrolman Edward Dowhy; Cherry Hill Police Department Patrolman Blair Smith; Gloucester Township Police Department Detective Ron Trabosh; Voorhees Police Department Patrolman Jeff Bauer; and PATCO security.

During the time the Task Force was in operation, the unit recovered 54 stolen cars, made 33 arrests, served 10 warrants, and closed 4 garages being used as “chop shops.”

For their dedication and success in their assignment, Camden Local No. #35 recognized their efforts and presented each of them with an award.

Pictured from left to right: Patrolman Edward Dowhy and Patrolman Ronald Miller, Camden City Police Department; Detective Ron Trabosh, Gloucester Township Police Department; Detective Clifford Leary and Detective Vince Foster, Camden City Police Department; Detective Bob Stanley, Delaware River Port Authority.

Of Sicklerville, NJ on November 28, 2006. Aged 63 years. Beloved husband of Helen (nee Miller). Devoted father of Danielle of Sicklerville, Courtney of Maple Shade and Stephen of Williamstown. Dear brother of Janet Eldred and Donna Beideman of Bellmawr. Born and raised in Camden, NJ. Retired Sergeant, Camden City Police Department. Funeral services will be held privately at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory to the Sicklerville Volunteer Fire Company would be appreciated.