Police, Religious Leaders Talk Security In Cinnaminson

CINNAMINSON, NJ — If you see something, say something. It’s a message we all hear from authorities, particularly after a criminal or suspicious incident goes down locally. It’s a message that bears repeating because it’s a message that needs to hit home.

It was the message Cinnaminson Township Police Chief Richard Calabrese delivered during a panel discussion on safety and security for area houses of worship at the municipal building on Wednesday.

“Contact police right away,” Calabrese said. “We’ve had people call us and say we had suspicious person here, but they left. People always wait to call and when we ask them why, they say they didn’t want to bother us. That’s what we’re here for.”

If police are called to the scene, they can determine at that time if a suspicious person is a threat.
“If it’s no big deal, we can brush it along and not worry about it,” Calabrese said.

If police arrive after the suspicious person leaves, detectives then have to investigate after the fact. The most important thing is to avert any potential disaster.

“It only takes two to three minutes for something to go down,” Calabrese said. “People get scared. They freeze up."

And you can’t just assume that nothing like that will happen in your town.

“Never in 21 years did I think I would have to tell religious leaders they have to be careful about who they let in their doors,” Calabrese said.

Over about a 20-year period from 1999 to 2018, there were 18 fatal church shootings and 220 school shootings, including 59 with at least one fatality, according to factsandtrends.net.

Cinnaminson police were joined by police from Riverton and Palmyra, as well the Department of Homeland Security New Jersey and members of township committee for the presentation. Representatives of various houses of worship in all three communities were invited to attend.

There were about 55 people in attendance from outside the law enforcement community as well, according to Calabrese.

“This forum is a great example of Cinnaminson Township’s commitment to the safety and security of all of our residents,” Cinnaminson Mayor Ryan Horner said in a statement. “Police Chief Richard Calabrese did a wonderful job in partnering with other agencies to coordinate this very informative and important program.”

In the image attached to this post (from left to right): Committee Member Paul Conda; Mayor Ryan Horner; Police Chief Richard Calabrese; Committee Member Ernest McGill and Deputy Mayor Albert Segrest.