POLICE CHIEF RESPONDS TO CROSSING GUARD ABSENCES

We wrote Monday about two intersections where crossing guards were not in place Monday morning, at least at the beginning of the student travel times.

Police Chief Robert Cimino responded to our report and request for comment with this email:

We place a high priority on our School Crossing assignments so there is a process our supervisors follow to assign and verify Crossing Guard coverage daily. Crossing Guard Posts are also cross-checked by our road supervisors, officers, and Youth Bureau Detectives as a precaution. 

Both locations you have noted were also identified by our officers as requiring police coverage today, so patrol officers were dispatched to those locations to perform guard duties. In one location you cited, the guard arrived late and in the other a guard was on an approved day-off but the replacement officer arrived later than usual. Ultimately officers did perform the guard duty and covered the two assignments. 

As to what is done in these situations; the circumstances will be fully investigated and a corrective action will be taken with those found responsible for the delayed coverage. 

Lastly, whenever a citizen believes a guard is not on their post, I would ask them to please contact the Police Communications Desk by telephone as soon as possible so that they can confirm that an officer is being assigned to cover the post. 

Thank you for your inquiry. 
Robert J. Cimino 
Chief of Police 
Maplewood Township