Police Investigate Fourth Threat This Month At Union County College

In what has become somewhat of a regular occurance, Cranford campus was visited by law enforcement personnel again this afternoon following a threat that was received by the school.

"Union County College’s Public Safety issued an 'all clear' at 3:30 p.m. after sweeping the Cranford campus in response to this nebulous threat," said Stephen D. Nacco, Vice President & Executive Assistant to the President.

Nacco said the college received a "vague phone threat" at approximately 2 p.m. today. The college's Public Safety Department "took appropriate action for a Level I threat," Nacco said.

According to the handbook used by the college to handle public safety incidents, a Level I threat is described as a "hoax caller; probability of threat being real is less than 2 percent." The handbook also states that "98 percent of all bomb threats are hoaxes; typically the caller is standing or parked nearby to see the reaction of your facility; panic is what he/she hopes to cause. Assume he/she
has a bomb until you know he doesn’t."

The guide goes on to list the procedures that must be followed if and when a threat is received. Today's incident marks the fourth time this month that a threat has been received by the UCC Cranford campus. So far,

As with the other calls, Nacco said county law enforcement personnel and the FBI were contacted. Police checked the buildings along with members of the campus security team and determined that the threat was another hoax.

In a recent letter to students and staff following a minor smoke condition inside a classroom in the Science Building, UCC President Margaret M. McMenamin called the continuous threats "an unfortunate sign of the times."

"We continue to work with law enforcement to investigate the recent bomb threats on the Cranford Campus. As evidenced by the recent spate of similar hoaxes at the Universities of Pittsburgh, Delaware, and Maine, this aberrant behavior has become an unfortunate sign of the times. Please be assured that we will remain vigilant as we follow our emergency management plan in our response," McMenamin said in the letter.

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