Plan to put armed, retired cops in N.J. schools advances

TRENTON — A proposal to station armed, retired police officers as security in New Jersey’s schools was revived Thursday for the new legislative session. The bill ( S86) establishes “Class Three” special police officers designated to provide security at both public and private schools. The measure was approved by the state Senate a few weeks ago… Read the rest of this entry »

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Hornik: Media was more of a distraction than police were as kids went back to Marlboro Schools

Today was the first day of Marlboro’s Cops in Schools program, the community’s first in the nation response to the Newtown Connecticut School massacre that claimed the lives of 20 school children and 6 adult staff on December 14.

Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik told MMM it was just another school day in Marlboro, with the exception of the media presence and attention. “It was a normal a day as the first day back from vacation can be,”said the Mayor, “the police were not a distraction, however there was a significant media presence.”

Hornik said the media attention is a result of the NRA’s call for Cops in Schools nationwide, which happened a day after he announced the township’s decision to protect their school children with armed police.

Sharon Witchel, Director of Community Relations for the Marlboro Board of Education, told Marlboro-Colts Neck Patch that the cost of the 90 day program would be approximately $100,000.

“During the 90-day period, the district will review current safety and security practices and determine future improvements, which will include fiscal considerations,” Witchel said.

Hornik said that township officials and the school board will review the yet to be released incident report from Newtown before making any long term decisions on school security.

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Marlboro Mayor’s Moxy

By Matt Rooney, cross-posted at SaveJersey.com

Marlboro’s Mayor Jon Hornik is standing by the community’s decision to introduce an armed presence into its schools, Save Jerseyans.

I admire this guy’s moxy!

Our Governor and other like-minded pols are opposed to turning schools into ”armed camps,” but I wholeheartedly disagree with their premise. It’s an logical leap, particularly when so many of our high schools already have a regular police presence. The fact also remains that there seems to be little or no political will on either side of the aisle to address the real problem: an over-medicated, under-parented generation whose less stable members are shielded from meaningful psychiatric action by asinine post-deinstitutionalization laws and administrative regulations.

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Marlboro to post cops at schools

The Township of Marlboro is apparently the first community in the nation to assign armed police officers at their schools in reaction to the massacre in Newtown, CT.

According to reports in Marlboro-Colts Neck Patch, NJ.com and The New York Post, each of Marlboro’s 9 schools will have a cop on guard when they reopen on January 2.  Additionally, digital video cameras will be installed in all school facilities to be monitored by the police department.

“We’ve seen a new evil and we need to deal with it,” Mayor Jon Hornik said in a phone interview with MMM, “This is like 9-11.  We’ve seen airport security change. Now we have to change school security and do it quickly.”

Board of Education Vice President Victoria Dean said that the board authorized the funding of police officers in the schools for 90 days while they evaluate long term options.

“This is not the long term solution,” said Dean, “we want to prevent the possibility of a Sandy Hook copy cat and to ease the fears of our residents.”

Both Hornik and Dean said that Marlboro had made this decision prior to NRA President Wayne LaPierre’s call for cops in all schools nationally at his news conference on Friday.  Marlboro’s new school safety policy was posted on the board’s website on Thursday.   Hornik said he is not an NRA supporter and believes that assault weapons and ammunition should be banned, “but we have to protect our kids.”

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