Message from Mayor Jack Mikolajczyk: Drone Activity
On Tuesday December 10th I received an email from the state. On Wednesday December 11th at 11am I attended an in-person briefing in Ewing with representatives of the NJ State Police and the NJ Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness at the New Jersey Regional Operations & Intelligence Center regarding the recent reports of drones flying in the state. The email further stated that due to the nature of the briefing, this invitation is open only to Mayors. No staff, Business Administrators or Council people will be allowed to attend.
While the meeting provided some insight, it also raised more questions.
Here are my notes:
According to the NJ Office of Homeland Security, there is no known credible threat, but the situation remains unresolved. The State Police has been investigating for three weeks. The first sighting was November 18th and there have been reports of sightings every night since. Last night (12/10) there were 4 sightings. 180 were reported the night before. The drones fly for 6-7 hours at night. No sightings during the day. They have no radio frequency signals, so they can’t be detected. Their lights shut off when approached. No daytime sightings reported. The state does not have the authority to take one down as the authority in this case belongs to the federal government.
They don't know where they take off from or where they land. They don't know who owns them or where they are going. They are flying in unrestricted airspace. Their efforts to date have mostly been trying to observe them as policy and legislation prevent additional action without a credible threat. Many of them fly in groups. While many of them are in unrestricted airspace they have been spotted around non-military but essential locations. Water supplies and power stations. They mentioned that the federal government is cooperating but did not go into detail as to what they are doing. It was a non-informative response. The state is promoting a "See Something, Say Something" protocol. Residents may report suspicious drone activity to local law enforcement, or NJOHSP’s Counter-Threat Watch Unit at 866-4-SAFE-NJ (1-866-472-3365) or tips@njohsp.gov.
I was disappointed that the governor who requested all the mayors to drop everything (many of us are part time volunteers who work) to come to a meeting failed to come himself. New Jersey State Police Colonel Patrick Callahan chaired the meeting and offered what information he had.
The attached file is the handout they had for us.
I have relayed this information to our chief of police who is working with his staff and the OEM as we incorporate this information in our Borough Readiness plan. We will continue to update as more critical information comes in.
We are taking this developing situation seriously and are working to do our best to be prepared and keep our residents safe and as informed as possible. If you see a drone, call the Middlesex Police Department at (732) 356-1900 Ext. 0. They will investigate and report as appropriate to the proper authority. (Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and the FBI).
Jack Mikolajczyk
Mayor
Borough of Middlesex
