Truly Nolen’s Murray Responds to ACLU Criticism of its Crime Prevention Program

ORLANDO, Fla. - Barry Murray, vice president of marketing and public relations, Truly Nolen of America, said claims made by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) that Truly Nolen’s “Eyes and Ears” program “amounts to spying,” are absurd. “Eyes and Ears” is a program in which Truly Nolen technicians work in partnership with Orlando Police and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office to keep an eye on crime.

The Miami Herald reported that at a Tuesday press conference, George Crossley, head of the ACLU chapter in Central Florida, said the ACLU will file public-records requests to find out whether police agencies have enlisted other businesses in a similar regional program.

Crossley told PCT that the ACLU objects to government-created groups of service providers such as pest control companies, cable installers and utility workers that “are working for law enforcement.” “Our view and the view of others is that pest control companies need to be worrying about pests and they don’t need to be working for law enforcement,” Crossley said.

Murray told PCT that Truly Nolen’s program is not part of a government-created terrorist watch organization, but rather a crime watch. Further, Murray said ACLU was acting irresponsibly in calling a press conference to make such statements without speaking to anyone at Truly Nolen or otherwise confirming this information.

Murray said Truly Nolen technicians have long been trained to keep an eye out for suspicious activities in accounts they service. The recently introduced “Eyes and Ears” program was launched to make the public aware of this fact. “It is part of our strategy to be involved in the neighborhoods that provide us our livelihood,” Murray said. “Our technicians will not turn a blind-eye to crimes being committed. It’s part of our obligation to the communities we serve.”

The crime prevention training Truly Nolen technicians receive is similar to the training given to neighborhood watch organizations, Murray said. He said a crime watch expert will give an approximately half-hour presentation about what should be considered suspicious and what should be considered not suspicious. No anti-terrorism training is involved in these sessions, Murray stressed.

Murray added that Truly Nolen was approached but declined to join the Citizen Awareness Program, a controversial plan established last year by Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary and State Attorney Lawson Lamar to employ utility workers and others against crime and terrorism.

Additional source: Miami Herald