Colorado program for reporting student threats sees spike in reports

(The Center Square) - Safe2Tell saw a 74% increase in reports for September 2024 compared to September 2023, according the Colorado Attorney General's office.

The increase comes due to an increase "school threats and safety concerns," a release said.

September 2024 saw 4,729 reports, setting a new record for the state.

“This past month highlights exactly why the Safe2Tell program is so critical—to prevent the worst-case scenarios from happening to Colorado students,” Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a statement. “The program remains a vital tool for students and communities to proactively address safety concerns. We encourage students to speak up, knowing they are making a difference in keeping their peers and schools safe.”

September 2024 marked a 162% increase in reports compared to August, with the biggest issues being suicide (354), bullying (305), and school safety concerns: staff (253).

The reports cover "any student safety concern involving a staff member, with reports ranging from inappropriate language by staff, or allegations of a teacher-student relationship, to even a teacher assigning too much homework contributing to a student’s depression and anxiety," the release said.

Last month also saw a rise in (239) planned school attacks (193), plus duplicate reports (1,438). Many of these duplicate reports came from a small number of social media posts, the release said.

"These posts were often shared, altered, and misinterpreted, leading people to believe that the threats applied to different schools across the state and country," the release said.

School shootings, even in other states, can lead to more threats.

“We typically see an uptick in reporting after a tragedy like the one in Georgia, as students become more vigilant,” Safe2Tell Director Stacey Jenkins said. “Instead of reposting this information on social media, we encourage you to tell a trusted adult. And if one isn’t available, please report it to Safe2Tell.”

False reports are just 2.1% of the reports submitted, the release said.

"False reports are those that contain untrue information and are submitted with the intent to harm, injure, or bully another person," the release explained.

The Attorney General's office explained a couple of instances where Safe2Tell anonymous reporting protected student safety last month, according to the release:

A person reported that a student threw a knife at another student and almost harmed that individual. Local teams investigated and contacted the student’s parent, in addition to placing them on a plan to ensure the safety of all students.A person reported seeing a social media post by a peer that mentioned explosives in their classroom and threatened students not to go to school. Local law enforcement conducted an investigation and arrested the student who made the social media post, in addition to reporting the account where threats were made to the social media platform.

Safe2Tell received 28,218 reports during the 2023-2024 school year, a spokesman for the Colorado Attorney General's office told The Center Square; the office also said that 96.5% of reports have been determined to be valid so far this school year.

The program gets its $480,000 taxpayer funding from the annual Long Appropriations Bill.

People can make anonymous reports to Safe2Tell by calling 1-877-542-7233, visiting Safe2Tell.org, texting S2TCO to 738477, or via the mobile app available on the Apple App Store or Google Play.