State AG: School threat reporting system gets hundreds of tips in its first week

A statewide school-based anonymous reporting system for threats of potential violence fielded 615 tips in its first week of operation, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro said.

The Safe2Say Something Anonymous Reporting System is a program enabling students, teachers, school administrators and others to detect and report potential threats of violence and self-violence before they happen.

Crisis center analysts processed each tip and referred more than several hundred to local police and school officials, Shapiro said.

According to the AG’s office, Safe2Say includes close to 3,800 public and private schools across the state in its network.

Last week, the program’s staff trained nearly 180,000 students in how to use the reporting system.

This week, plans are to complete training for about an additional 170,000 students.

“I’m proud my office was entrusted by the Legislature to run this new program focused on school safety. Working together with local law enforcement and school officials, we can make Pennsylvania safer for families, teachers and, most importantly, our students,” he is quoted in the news release.

Students, school officials and others can go to www.safe2saypa.org to learn more about this new school safety initiative.

They can also call 844-Saf2Say (844-723-2729) to report information.

The Office of Attorney General is working closely with the Sandy Hook Promise on education and outreach on how to use this reporting system. Sandy Hook Promise is a national non-profit organization based in Newtown, Conn., formed after the school shooting in Sandy Hook in December 2012. Its founders and directors include parents and others whose loved ones were killed in that tragedy.

While Sandy Hook Promise has trained 3.5 million students and teachers in 50 states in best practices to detect and report signs of potential violence, Pennsylvania is the first location where Sandy Hook Promise is working across an entire state.

Chuck Biedka is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chuck at 724-226-4711, cbiedka@tribweb.com or via Twitter @ChuckBiedka.