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anon-6s59
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 Posted: Mon, Nov 23 2015, 12:17 pm EST Post subject: Library's surveillance policy is discussed |
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| Quote: | CRANBURY: Library's surveillance policy is discussed
• By Amy Batista, Special Writer
• Updated Nov 19, 2015
CRANBURY – The Board of Education discussed the library’s surveillance policy and raised a concern over an individual who has been seen frequently visiting the library recently during its meeting Tuesday night.
“There was mention of an individual who has been frequenting the library who pretty much spends the entire day there over the last few days,” said board member and policy committee liaison Ash Hadcap.
Principal Dr. Susan Genco questioned if the person was an adult or a student.
“He hasn’t caused any issue or disturbance,” Mr. Hadap said. “He hasn’t approached any patrons. He hasn’t asked about any students. He hasn’t been an issue whatsoever. Having said, that we just said to Marilynn (Mullen) to talk to the police.”
Ms. Mullen is the director of the public library.
“There is a conjecture that this might be a homeless individual and so he might be looking for somewhere to hang out,” Mr. Hadap said. “It’s a sad situation, but I think our responsibility is to the kids. We want to make sure that there is no issue there.”
Dr. Genco said it was the first she was hearing about the issue and after the meeting, planned to contact Chief of Police Rickey Varga on her way home.
“I did speak with Dr. Genco last evening,” said Chief Varga in an email on Wednesday. “To my knowledge, we did not have any reports of suspicious persons or activities at the Cranbury Library over the last couple of weeks.”
He said that he really doesn’t have any facts regarding what made the staff feel that this person was suspicious, so it would be unfair for himself or Dr. Genco to comment on specifics at this point.
“Certainly someone has a right to research, read, etc. in a public library for long periods of time,” he said. “That alone would not make a person suspicious. But as I previously said, I just don’t have any facts that would give me a position of knowledge to speak as to why, if at all, this person raised attention. Along with Dr. Genco we will certainly look into the issue.”
If You See Something, Say Something” is a national campaign that raises public awareness of the indicators of terrorism and terrorism-related crime, as well as the importance of reporting suspicious activity to state and local law enforcement, according to the Department of Homeland Security website.
Informed, alert communities play a critical role in keeping our nation safe, according to its website.
Suspicious activity is any observed behavior that could indicate terrorism or terrorism-related crime. This includes, but is not limited to: Unusual items or situations - A vehicle is parked in an odd location, a package/luggage is unattended, a window/door is open that is usually closed, or other out-of-the-ordinary situations occur; Eliciting information - A person questions individuals at a level beyond curiosity about a building’s purpose, operations, security procedures and/or personnel, shift changes, etc; Observation/surveillance -Someone pays unusual attention to facilities or buildings beyond a casual or professional interest. This includes extended loitering without explanation (particularly in concealed locations); unusual, repeated, and/or prolonged observation of a building (e.g., with binoculars or video camera); taking notes or measurements; counting paces; sketching floor plans, etc.
Some of these activities could be innocent — it’s up to law enforcement to determine whether the behavior warrants investigation. The activities listed are not all-inclusive, but have been compiled based on studies of pre-operational aspects of both successful and thwarted terrorist events over several years, according to its website.
Public safety is everyone’s responsibility. If you see suspicious activity, report it to local law enforcement or a person of authority. Describe specifically what you observed, including who or what you saw; when you saw it; where it occurred; and why it’s suspicious, according to its website.
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anon-4s5p
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| Posted: Sat, Nov 28 2015, 12:13 pm EST Post subject: Re: Library's surveillance policy is discussed |
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| Not sure how we allow these individuals in the school. |
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anon-pp62
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| Posted: Tue, Dec 1 2015, 10:18 am EST Post subject: Re: Library's surveillance policy is discussed |
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Chief Varga got this completely right. The individual has the right to be in the public library - homeless or not. And Dr. Genco has it right to be concerned about letting a stranger (danger) into the school.
The public library should not be inside the elementary school. I think we should support the people who are trying to do the right thing and get the public library out of the school building. |
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Conned-952o
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| Posted: Tue, Dec 1 2015, 2:05 pm EST Post subject: Re: Library's surveillance policy is discussed |
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| anon-pp62 wrote: | Chief Varga got this completely right. The individual has the right to be in the public library - homeless or not. And Dr. Genco has it right to be concerned about letting a stranger (danger) into the school.
The public library should not be inside the elementary school. I think we should support the people who are trying to do the right thing and get the public library out of the school building. |
your being conned the money cannot be raised now the plan is to use the children being in danger as the reason for the new library your being conned we are all being conned for a new library for a select group of people to use in town we are being conned |
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anon-8s0o
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| Posted: Wed, Dec 2 2015, 11:58 am EST Post subject: Re: Library's surveillance policy is discussed |
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| Conned-952o wrote: | | anon-pp62 wrote: | Chief Varga got this completely right. The individual has the right to be in the public library - homeless or not. And Dr. Genco has it right to be concerned about letting a stranger (danger) into the school.
The public library should not be inside the elementary school. I think we should support the people who are trying to do the right thing and get the public library out of the school building. |
your being conned the money cannot be raised now the plan is to use the children being in danger as the reason for the new library your being conned we are all being conned for a new library for a select group of people to use in town we are being conned |
Look on the bright side. You can visit the new library and improve your grammar skills. |
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anon-q9p2
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| Posted: Wed, Dec 2 2015, 7:13 pm EST Post subject: Re: Library's surveillance policy is discussed |
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| anon-8s0o wrote: | | Conned-952o wrote: | | anon-pp62 wrote: | Chief Varga got this completely right. The individual has the right to be in the public library - homeless or not. And Dr. Genco has it right to be concerned about letting a stranger (danger) into the school.
The public library should not be inside the elementary school. I think we should support the people who are trying to do the right thing and get the public library out of the school building. |
your being conned the money cannot be raised now the plan is to use the children being in danger as the reason for the new library your being conned we are all being conned for a new library for a select group of people to use in town we are being conned |
Look on the bright side. You can visit the new library and improve your grammar skills. |
Quick, somebody call the police!!! An adult person actually voluntarily spent most of the day in the library keeping to himself and possibly reading books! This is clearly unusual behavior and cause for alarm. This person must be demented (and apparently a potential terroristic threat). |
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Bookworm-6s59
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| Posted: Thu, Dec 3 2015, 12:25 pm EST Post subject: Re: Library's surveillance policy is discussed |
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Shame on Director Mullen & Librarian Jan Murphy forcing attention on a visiting citizen who just needed a quiet place. The School Board rep took the bait. Hope you're pleased with yourselves.
Using this person as your pawn to alarm & incite so you can push your agenda for a new library\COMMUNITY CENTER is mean.
We get it; only COMMUNITY welcomed in Cranbury Public Library are white & wealthy. |
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Guest
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| Posted: Thu, Dec 3 2015, 1:35 pm EST Post subject: Re: Library's surveillance policy is discussed |
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| If he is homeless, where does he go after the library closes? |
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anon-4188
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| Posted: Thu, Dec 3 2015, 6:17 pm EST Post subject: Re: Library's surveillance policy is discussed |
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| Bookworm-6s59 wrote: | Shame on Director Mullen & Librarian Jan Murphy forcing attention on a visiting citizen who just needed a quiet place. The School Board rep took the bait. Hope you're pleased with yourselves.
Using this person as your pawn to alarm & incite so you can push your agenda for a new library\COMMUNITY CENTER is mean.
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I agree. Trying to turn a meek old man into the boogie man to scare Cranbury's parents into opening their wallets for a new library building is shameful and is yet another indicator of how low they are willing to stoop and how far they are willing to go. |
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anon-32n2
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| Posted: Thu, Dec 3 2015, 7:43 pm EST Post subject: Re: Library's surveillance policy is discussed |
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| Quote: | | We get it; only COMMUNITY welcomed in Cranbury Public Library are white & wealthy. |
Seriously? Stop trying to race-bait. Cranbury may be an affluent town, but we are diverse. Go to the library and take a look. |
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anon-q2q6
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| Posted: Thu, Dec 3 2015, 8:13 pm EST Post subject: Re: Library's surveillance policy is discussed |
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| anon-32n2 wrote: | | Quote: | | We get it; only COMMUNITY welcomed in Cranbury Public Library are white & wealthy. |
Seriously? Stop trying to race-bait. Cranbury may be an affluent town, but we are diverse. Go to the library and take a look. |
I don't see anywhere that race is mentioned in the article. If there is a racial component to the concern about this individual it is not evident.
What is evident is the library is trying to use a seemingly harmless visitor as a "Boogie Man" to scare parents into supporting their case for a new building... and that is sad and shameful. |
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anon-ppq7
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| Posted: Fri, Dec 4 2015, 8:10 am EST Post subject: Re: Library's surveillance policy is discussed |
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The facts are that the school is concerned, not the public library. Please read the article.
They have a right to be concerned as the public library is in the elementary school. The school can control who comes into the building -with this exception.
In other words, a public place does not belong in an elementary school. |
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anon-q8s1
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| Posted: Fri, Dec 4 2015, 5:44 pm EST Post subject: Re: Library's surveillance policy is discussed |
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| anon-ppq7 wrote: | The facts are that the school is concerned, not the public library. Please read the article.
They have a right to be concerned as the public library is in the elementary school. The school can control who comes into the building -with this exception.
In other words, a public place does not belong in an elementary school. |
I read the article. Comments like yours are exactly why people think this is a con by the library. Apparently, the librarians were "concerned" enough about an individual in the library to alert the school board rep who is on the library board hours or days after the fact, but were not concerned enough to alert the police, or even have a conversation with this person, at the time he was in the library.
This Boogie Man angle is shameful and sad. If you want a new library building, let the idea stand on its merits. Better yet, put it to a vote since the financial liability will fall on the shoulders of all tax paying residents. |
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anon-0o99
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| Posted: Sat, Dec 5 2015, 11:12 am EST Post subject: Re: Library's surveillance policy is discussed |
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| Quote: | | The Board of Education discussed the library’s surveillance policy and raised a concern over an individual who has been seen frequently visiting the library recently during its meeting Tuesday night. |
The Board of Education raised a concern over an individual who has been seen frequently visiting the library.
Public libraries are open to everyone. Chief Varga stated correctly that this individual has a right to be there. Your reaction to this demonstrates that this is a hot button issue. |
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anon-4n74
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| Posted: Sat, Dec 5 2015, 7:04 pm EST Post subject: Re: Library's surveillance policy is discussed |
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| anon-0o99 wrote: | | Quote: | | The Board of Education discussed the library’s surveillance policy and raised a concern over an individual who has been seen frequently visiting the library recently during its meeting Tuesday night. |
The Board of Education raised a concern over an individual who has been seen frequently visiting the library.
Public libraries are open to everyone. Chief Varga stated correctly that this individual has a right to be there. Your reaction to this demonstrates that this is a hot button issue. |
You can't ignore that the "concern" originated with the librarians who prompted the BOE's representative on the library board to raise the issue. This is a clear case of the library using boogie man scare tactics to try to raise support for the new building. Shame! Shame! Shame! |
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anon-s6p5
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| Posted: Sun, Dec 6 2015, 7:38 am EST Post subject: Re: Library's surveillance policy is discussed |
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We went for many decades with never hearing an issue. Suddenly we seem to be Trenton.
Let's be clear. There are many kids in the school, but we also have adult Liberians, teachers, etc... So these are not unattended kids.
Also, this person never approached a kid, spoke with a kid or did anything other than be there. There are a few times I have made a trip to the library wearing ratty t shirt or sweat shirts, paint covered jeans, etc... Why? Because I was doing work around the home painting or fixing my car and then went to run errands.
I think this making a deal of safety is back firing on the library fund raising big time. |
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