Carnival Security Head Says 'There Aren't Many Problems'

The head of security at the carnival said even though there are , the carnival is not “going downhill.”

Parishioner and Palmyra resident John Geary, who has been in charge of all carnival security measures since 2000, said there aren’t many issues his group has had to deal with from year to year.

“We don’t have a lot of problems on these carnival grounds,” Geary said. “[When we do], the biggest problem is young teenagers with alcohol. Our problems do not come from our beer bar.”

Started several years ago, the beer tent, open to 21-year-olds and over—with strict security in place—was so successful, the carnival has it each year.

“People go to the bar to meet their friends, have a couple of beers,” Gera said. “They don’t cause any problems.”

The majority of problems Geary said he sees are with the younger crowd that drinks before they get to the carnival.

“We cannot stop the children from stealing the alcohol from their parents,” he said. “When we do catch them, we release them in the custody of their parents.”

Geary is in charge of working with the and the dozens of security volunteers from the parish.

“We put a lot of police officers out where they gather by the rides,” Geary said of the most problematic crowds. “But it’s the same old [stuff] that goes on in high school that takes place on carnival grounds.”

This year, police arrested people for fighting, as they do each year. Also, investigations are pending for a victim who was hit with brass knuckles and for someone who broke into a car parked in the church lot and stole ticket sales money.

In the case of the brass knuckles case, Lt. Tim Young, of the Cinnaminson Police Department, said one or more gang members might be the culprits.

However Geary said in the past, there were gang problems but it’s few and far between now. And in his 13 years working for the carnival, he’s only seen four people who have been escorted out of the beer garden.

“It’s not really an issue,” he said.

The church pays for all security from Cinnaminson Police Department and this year, officers from the Burlington County Sheriff’s Office were present. There are 65 to 70 other volunteers who work three-hour shifts during the carnival. And Geary is on the grounds from 4:30 p.m. to well after midnight each night of the carnival. His partner, Walt Fox, assists him with security.

“It never stops,” he said. “I don’t stop because I have people in different stations, doing their thing. I have to check to make sure everything is okay. I have to make sure there is enough coverage where the teenagers are.”

Security has had to tighten up over the years though, Geary admitted, and it’s because the carnival is getting bigger.

“More people are showing up, the lines are getting longer,” he said. “You have minor things that pop up every now and again, and you try to adjust to it. Fortunately, we don’t have a lot of problems.”