The call to action comes in the form of an online petition, created on change.org, which has more than 550 supporters as of Monday afternoon.
ABERDEEN -- Following the slaying of 22-year-old Billy Karecki in Cliffwood Beach, residents are calling on officials to up security efforts along the beachfront.
The call to action comes in the form of an online petition, created on change.org, which has more than 550 supporters as of Monday afternoon. It asks for security cameras, brought down by Hurricane Sandy, to be remounted in the area and for Aberdeen police to commit to "daily frequent monitoring" of the area.
"The upward spiral of incidents ranging from quality of life crimes like vandalism, to the most recent and alarming incident of murder," the petition states. "This has caused members of the community to fear for their safety and the safety of their families."
Aberdeen police Chief John Powers said his force is committed to keeping the area safe, and that the shooting death of Karecki was an "infrequent occurrence."
"We recognize that when something like that happens, everyone's concerns are going to be raised and we need to reassure folks that the area is safe," Powers said. "We are committed to keeping it safe and we'll do whatever we need to do to continue those efforts."
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Powers said the issue with the security cameras is that Hurricane Sandy brought down the poles they were mounted on. He said the town is working on getting them back up.
"We have cameras that we are going to get mounted again, in short order," the chief said.
He said the beachfront area had two cameras prior to Hurricane Sandy -- one in the area near Whale Creek and one along the seawall in the area of Treasure Lake.
Along the beachfront in the Cliffwood Beach section of Aberdeen Township. (Google Maps).On Sept. 13, Karecki was gunned down in a parking lot off Ocean Boulevard, about a mile from his home. The incident remains under investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.
Powers said he couldn't say for sure whether either of the cameras once in the area could have provided authorities with key information in the investigation. "It would depend on what direction they were aimed," he said.
But residents in the area say since the cameras came down, they've noticed a spike in crime in the area.
"I live just a couple of streets up from the seawall," one petitioner wrote. "One of the reasons we bought a house in the area was for access to the water. Sadly, it's gotten to the point where we are not comfortable walking the seawall paths unless part of a group."
A resident in the area, John Franklin, said the shooting "is kind of a first" in the neighborhood. He said authorities found a couple bodies dumped in the area years ago, but Powers couldn't confirm that report.
The day after Karecki was killed, a woman exiting a parking lot across the street from where he was gunned down said her son was involved in a fight a week prior to the shooting near the beachfront. The woman, who did not provide her identity, said the fight pushed her to admit her son into a rehab facility for drug abuse.
Powers said officers responded to a report of a fight on Sept. 6 on Lake Shore Drive, which borders the beachfront, but he could not confirm it was the same incident the resident referred to. He said the officer's report indicated the altercation was over by the time he arrived on scene.
"The subjects were gone on arrival or the call was unfounded," Powers said.
From January 2015 until Sept. 24, officers have documented 115 checks of the beachfront area, according to statistics provided by Powers. In that time, there has been one narcotics possession arrest, one criminal mischief incident, two disorderly person calls, two fire calls and one noise complaint, Powers said. Those incidents occurred in the area from Whale Creek to Lake Shore Drive and along the seawall area.
Powers said officers "frequent the area" throughout their shifts as part of their normal routine, but that they don't always document those checks. Powers estimated that the area gets checked by police at least three or four times a day.
The department, Powers said, is committed to an open dialogue with the community.
"We encourage residents to give us a call and we'll come out and address the situation appropriately," he said.
Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.