Sean C. Morgan
The Oregon State Police last week announced the availability of a new school safety tip line program for all public K-12 schools in Oregon.
“With the recommendation of the Sweet Home police chief and our school resource officer, we have implemented a tip line for our schools and community,” said Supt. Tom Yahraes. “SafeOregon is a statewide safety tip line to report and respond to student safety threats.”
The Oregon State Police say 813 Oregon schools have signed up to use the tip line, Yahraes said.
Police Chief Jeff Lynn said Sweet Home began the process of signing up for the service last spring.
“The goal is to prevent school safety threats from occurring by providing schools and communities with a relevant tool for reporting potential threats,” Yahraes said.
“SafeOregon systems report that the number one reason why students do not report is the fear of retaliation from their peers.
“SafeOregon can be accessed from the privacy of a phone, home computer or cell phone device, eliminating the possibility of being identified by another student and thus, decreasing the likelihood that a school safety threat would go unreported.
“What keeps us safer is open communication between our community, schools, and law enforcement. SafeOregon will provide another format for us to work together and communicate about school safety.”
The main goal of SafeOregon is to intervene at the earliest possible point in the life of a young person who is struggling, helping them when they need it, before the situation turns into a tragedy, according to an OSP press release.
“More access to reporting is always good,” Lynn said. “See something, say something. That’s huge. That’s key. It’s not an answer-all. It’s just another tool. We’re excited they brought it on.”
Looking back at disasters and shooting incidents, Lynn said, there have been indicators, red flags, that could have been used to help avert the incidents.
Tips can be submitted in a variety of ways, including email, phone calls or text.
Tip line technicians are available 24 hours per day, seven days a week, Yahraes said. All tips go immediately to a tip line technician.
Tips are analyzed and forwarded to designated personnel who can provide further assistance in resolving reported incidents, Yahraes said.
This may be to school officials, law enforcement, community mental health programs, or other appropriate local or state agencies.
SafeOregon is designed to encourage Oregon students to share and respond to anything that threatens their safety or the safety of others, anything that makes a student feel unsafe, or if a student knows someone who feels unsafe, according to the State Police. Examples include safety threats, violence, threats of violence, fights, drugs, alcohol, weapons, bullying or friends that talk about hurting themselves, harassment, intimidation, cyber bullying, or self-harm.
Tips can be submitted through the SafeOregon.com web portal, by email to [email protected], through the SafeOregon mobile application (available for android or ios device), or by calling or texting (844) 472-3364.