Safe-2-Tell, based on the Colorado Prevention Initiative for School Safety, provides a safe, anonymous way to report information about a crime, potential dangerous situation or other concerns.
“There are a lot of kids who know what’s happening,” said Scot Brown, Montrose High School assistant principal. However, he said because they fear having their name brought up, being harassed for telling, or their friends are involved, they do not want to report potential important information.
 Montrose High School students now see postings in the school's hallways about the Safe2Tell program. The program, based on the Colorado Prevention Initiative for School Safety, provides a safe and anonymous way to report crimes or other potentially dangerous situations. (Barton Glasser / Daily Press) Advertisement |
A community night is scheduled for Tuesday, March 4 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Montrose Pavilion. McGuire will present to the community what the program is, how it works and its benefits.
“I think with this parent night coming up, it will help people understand the good things (the program) will bring,” said Don Davidson, Pomona Elementary School principal.
While employed in a Colorado Springs school district, Davidson helped Safe-2-Tell executive director and former police officer Susan Payne implement the program for the first time in elementary schools. He also saw the program’s success, as did Brown, in the Craig school district where they both worked.
“It takes a while to catch on, but it has powerful research behind it,” Davidson said.
The program works as a preventative measure. Students or adults can report anything from assault and child abuse, to ditching school or suicide threats.
“It gives us another tool to use to keep our kids safe,” Davidson said. “... address it before it become a real problem or issue.”
Statistics show that 160,000 children miss school daily because they are afraid of someone or something, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Association of School Psychologists. In 75 percent of violence in U.S. schools, someone other than the attacker knew it was going to happen.
To date, Safe-2-Tell has had more than 3,000 information and educational calls. These reports have resulted in investigations, early intervention and prevention, according to its Web site, www.safe2tell.org.
Among those calls were 53 reports of child abuse, 22 reports of self mutilation (cutting), 61 suicide preventions, one eating disorder, and 72 reports of guns or other weapons.
“We’ve never had a gun or school shooting, but if we can stop one incident it is worth bringing in,” Brown said. “The state is getting behind it and I’d sooner get us involved now and have it in place rather then after (an incident).”
When someone reports an incident to Safe-2-Tell, they are given a reference number. Information is then sent immediately to the need-to-know parties, such as the school and police. The school must then send back an accountability report explaining how it investigated the situation, what was found and the direction the school is taking to handle the problem.
A spot on the program’s Web site lists reference numbers for cases needing the reporter to call back with further information.
To report information to Safe-2-Tell, call the free hotline at 1-877-542-SAFE (7233).
For more information on the community meeting or the program call Scot Brown at 249-6636.
Contact Kati O’Hare via e-mail at katio@montrosepress.com
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