Despite strict penalties enforced on two High School North students who caused public alarm with bomb threats against Community Middle School earlier this year, another bomb threat was written on a girls’ bathroom wall, this time at High School North.##M:[more]## Meanwhile, Plainsboro Police have begun a text messaging service in response to parents’ requests for better distribution of information in crisis situations.
In the instance of the first threat, 1,”200 CMS students were evacuated to High School North while police searched the school with bomb-sniffing dogs, and determined no credible threat.
On February 7, 1,”700 North students were evacuated to CMS at 10:45 while the next threat was investigated and also determined to be a hoax.
At a January 29 forum for CMS parents, police explained that two female perpetrators of the first threats were sentenced to 10 days in juvenile detention, expelled from school, and required to pay restitution. They said they would seek stiffer penalties for the student who placed a 911 call on January 12 that caused the school to go into lockdown before they determined that too was a hoax. At the time, the police had not found the student who placed the call and said, “I’m going to commit suicide. I’m going to put a gun to my throat.”
On February 6, the Plainsboro Police Department announced it had found the student who claimed he had a loaded shotgun and was on his way to use it at Community Middle School.
A break in the case occurred when another 911 call was made on January 25. A 9-year-old Plainsboro resident called to report being pelted by snowballs at a bus stop. Public Safety Communications Officer James Steimle answered the call and recognized the number as the same one which had placed the hoax call. The caller told Steimle his name and location.
A subsequent investigation revealed that the 9-year-old was using a phone he and his brother took from a donation box at the Plainsboro Library. His brother, an 11-year-old Grover Middle School student and Quail Ridge Drive resident, had made the call on a bus on the way to school, according to witnesses. A trace of the first call did not lead to the perpetrator since the phone was stolen, and had never been re-egistered.
The student was charged with causing a false public alarm. He was released to a parent pending a future hearing in Middlesex County Family court.
At a January 29 meeting called to answer parents’ questions about the recent hoaxes, many attendees complained of not being given timely or sufficient information while the investigations were taking place. In response to their concerns, the Plainsboro Police Department has begun a system wherein parents can register to receive text message alerts to inform them of potential danger.
The police department started www.plainsboroonwatch.com last fall, and will now expand the site’s services for residents with the addition of the text message system. The registration process is two-fold. In order to receive the alerts, one must request registration, then the department must validate the request to ensure the recipient is a resident of Plainsboro or has children attending the township’s schools. All registrants must be over 21, since registration also allows users to participate in discussion forums that sometimes include information not meant for youths.
“This is being done in cooperation with the community. It takes a lot of staff to manage this site, and that’s all done by volunteers,” said Sergeant Jay Duffy. “The service is only as strong as number of members signed up, so we encourage everyone who is eligible to register as soon as possible.
