By: Gloria Vittadello
News Editor
The Signal and Campus Police work together on a weekly basis to inform the campus community about crime on and around campus. All records given to The Signal are public records and do not contain personal information. Some information provided may be triggering for some students.
After a couple weeks of the Lions being back on campus, Campus Police have already interacted with many different scenarios. The fall semester has presented burglaries, larceny, fire alarms and the consequences of using too much perfume, to name a few.
August 26: A wallet returned empty
At 11:10 a.m. a student arrived at Campus Police headquarters to report a possible theft. The day before, she went to Eickoff Dining Hall to grab lunch with a friend. Ultimately, she misplaced her wallet, but later found it at the lost and found. When she retrieved her wallet though, $57 was missing. She said she didn’t remember any suspicious movement around her.
Wolfe Hall burglaries
There were several thefts in Wolfe Hall reported between Aug. 26 and 30.
August 26: Only the big bills
A Wolfe Hall resident made a report to Campus Police that $50 was stolen from his room. The student explained the last time he noticed the money was on Aug. 22 between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. on top of his dorm dresser. When he came home on Aug. 23, at approximately 10 a.m., the $50 bill was no longer on top of the dresser. Nothing else in the room was out of the ordinary.
Two hours later, at 2:35 p.m., Campus Police met with another student who reported missing money. He stated $120 had been taken from his wallet, though $30 singles dollars were left behind. He explained the last time he saw his money was on Aug. 21. On Aug. 23rd though, he noticed the money was no longer in his wallet. He also mentioned a $50 Amazon gift card could have been taken as well, but he wasn’t sure, because he may have left it at home.
At 4:30 p.m., a third student went to Campus Police with a concern for his stolen property. The student stated $50 was stolen from his room as well. After two instances of theft, students on his floor were notifying each other of what was happening, so he went back to his dorm to check if he had his belongings. He said nothing else from his room seemed to be missing or messed with. He recognized that the door could have been left unlocked but he wasn’t sure.
At 5:56 p.m. a fourth student met with Campus Police after realizing on Aug. 21 $100 was missing from his room. A $50 gift card was taken from his desk as well. He saw the giftcard the night of Aug. 22, and then noticed it was missing when he woke up for his football scrimmage on Aug. 23 around 7 a.m. He believes the perpetrator entered his room at night while he was sleeping.
August 27: A stolen Amazon giftcard
The following day, a fifth student came to the Campus Police at 4:02 p.m. to report a $50 gift card was taken from his room. The card was inside a small blue and black box with a smiley face on it, which was also taken. The student last saw the gift card in his desk on Aug. 22nd and noticed it was missing on Aug. 24th around 5 p.m.
August 31: Moving hats
At 12:29 p.m., $60 dollars was taken from a student's wallet that was under a stack of hats inside of his dorm. The student said he had three $20 bills, which were taken, but his smaller bills were left behind. He said he saw his money on Aug. 22, before it was taken. He was aware of the thefts and headed back to his room to check his belongings after playing basketball. His roommate also has 30 dollars taken from his wallet at the same time. He didn’t wish to report the incident.
Another student informed the police that a $50 bill was stolen from on top of his dresser. The resident stated his door was unlocked.
At this time no suspect has been identified and all of these investigations are ongoing.
Fire alarms
There were a plethora of different fire alarms since the start of the fall semester. The causes of them have been too much dust in detectors, rain, too much perfume, hair dryers and more.
August 26: A dusty smoke detector
Full evacuation of the Townhouses West occurred at 12:53 p.m. because there was too much dust and dirt in one of the smoke detectors. A positive response was confirmed, and students were able to return to their units at 1:05 p.m.
August 27: Lot 13 evacuation
Campus Police were sent to Lot 13 due to an activated fire alarm on the second floor. Upon arrival, strobes, audible alarms and full evacuation were active. No smoke or fire was observed. Police determined that the active fire alarm was due to the pull station getting wet from the rain. A positive reset was confirmed and Lot 13 was clear for re-entry.
August 28: Fire alarm in the maintenance building
At 8:10 a.m., Campus Police were dispatched to the Facilities Building due to an active alarm. The light strobes and audible alarms were active. Campus Police proceeded to check all the rooms on the first floor, which were cleared. The activated smoke detector was located in the Auto Shop office room 121B and appeared to be set by a toaster oven. There was an evacuation.
September 1: Too much perfume
In one of the residential halls, the Ewing Fire Department confirmed there were no signs of smoke or fire and suspected the smoke detector in the room went off because there was a heavy scent of perfume.
Sept 10: Hair dryers
At 1:22 a.m. in Cromwell, a student set off an alarm with her hair dryer. When Campus Police arrived at the scene, there were no signs of smoke or fire. At 1:29 a.m. the area was confirmed as safe.
Sept 13: Overcooked fajitas
At approximately 1:08 p.m., Campus Police were dispatched to Decker Hall for a smoke detector that went off. There were active audible alarms, but visual strobes were not flashing. There was light smoke in the room, but no signs of fire. The student in the unit where the alarm went off, accidentally burned their fajitas when they were reheating them. The building was occupied, and there was no need for evacuation.
Public notice: Feedback to Campus Police
On Sept 28., Campus Police plans to hear feedback from students and faculty based on the following categories: the administrative function, the personnel function, the operations function, the investigative function and the arrestee/detainee function.
The assessment is going to be on-site, as well as by phone call between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. The department invites agency employees and the public to send feedback. The assessment is going to be on-site as well as by phone. The phone number is 609-771-3483. Email comments can be sent to the police department at tcnjpd@tcnj.edu.
Telephone comments are limited to five minutes and must address the agency’s ability to comply with the NJSACOP standards. If you have any questions, students are directed to call Accreditation Manager Rebecca Joseph at 609-771-2845.
