Journal News Examines New Rochelle Police Department Records for New Rochelle Public Library

Written By: Robert Cox

B5499C27-1249-4A6C-A409-738F023AFC61.jpgErnie Garcia has a story up on the Journal News which contains some honest-to-goodness investigative reporting: New Rochelle, Yonkers libraries ramp up security.

We have said it before and we will say it again, the work done by Ernie and Date Desk Editor Cathey O’Donnell is, by far, the best reporting done by the Journal News. In this case, the paper FOIL’d to obtain incident reports from the New Rochelle Police Department and looked for patterns in the data.

The Journal News found that most of the police calls involved “disruptive behavior” and most of those came between 3 PM and 6 PM.

Thomas Geoffino, the director of the New Rochelle Public Library acknowledge the problem and said the library has responded to after-school “unruliness” by installing surveillance cameras at the main library in downtown New Rochelle. Geoffino acknowledged the problem but was not overly concerned.

“We do see some exuberant behavior during that time”, said Geoffino. “Oftentimes kids can get a little rowdy, but in most instances it is nothing exceptional. We believe this activity is typical, but we are never loath to ask the police to visit if the situation calls for such a response.”

Talk of the Sound first reported on disruptive behavior at the library back in March 2009: Three New Rochelle High School Students Arrested near New Rochelle Public Library. The story was subsequently discussed at community meetings in New Rochelle where older residents expressed concerns and some said they felt “unsafe” at the library and wanted something done about it. The Journal News does not say if the level of incidents has changed over time.

One thought on “Journal News Examines New Rochelle Police Department Records for New Rochelle Public Library”

  1. Why do teens congregate in the library ?
    If you go to the New Rochelle public library from around 3 p.m in the afternoon you will often find middle or high school students sitting at tables on the second floor socializing. There is no attempt to establish a decorum that should be followed in a library. Why is this library taking on the role of the schools and youth centers?

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