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U.S. NEWS Monday 5 March 2018

After Parkland, even idle school threats get tough response

the National Association of a spike since Parkland. The time from kids being kids to
School Resource Officers Ohio group counted 797 as this is very serious stuff,” she
and a veteran of 16 years of Sunday. Most (743) were said. She expects conse-
on duty at Franklin High for threats of various kinds, quences of post-Parkland
School in suburban Balti- including gun and bomb threats to be harsher than
more, said the number of threats. The threats were before.
threats goes down when made mostly via social “They almost have to be,”
districts send a strong mes- media (331) and verbally she said. “Do we want to
sage that they won’t be (119). do this for the rest of the
tolerated. That amounts to about a school year?
The Educator’s School Safe- sevenfold increase in the Do we want to have this
ty Network, which tracks re- usual rate, director of pro- constant chaos and fear,
ports of school threats and grams Amy Klinger said. and people being upset?
violent incidents across the “The mentality has shifted How much learning is go-
country, has documented in a very short period of ing on?”q
Police officers stand guard as Orono High School students arrive
for school, one day after a threat was posted, causing the
school to go on lockdown in Orono, Minn. An autistic Orono High
School student whose alleged threat led to a six-hour lockdown
is in juvenile court. He’s received an outpouring of sympathy,
and donations for his family. The Feb. 14 killings of 17 people in
Parkland, Fla., ignited the usual copycat threats.
(David Joles/Star Tribune via AP)
By STEVE KARNOWSKI of National School Safety
Associated Press and Security Services, a
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Fif- Cleveland-based con-
teen students in one Florida sulting company. “Now
school district are facing they’re being addressed
felony charges and prison behind closed doors in
time for making alleged the police station and the
threats since the Marjory courtroom.”
Stoneman Douglas High The Volusia County Schools
School massacre. Mean- system in east-central Flor-
while, an autistic Minnesota ida isn’t taking chances.
high school student whose Sheriff Michael Chitwood
alleged threat led to a six- made it clear he had a
hour lockdown is in juvenile zero-tolerance policy as
court and has received an threats began after Park-
outpouring of sympathy. land. On Thursday, he went
The Feb. 14 killings of 17 further, saying students or
people in Parkland, Florida, their families would have to
have ignited a wave of pay the costs of the inves-
copycat threats, as hap- tigations — at least $1,000
pens after nearly every and sometimes much
high-profile school shoot- more.
ing. Most prove unfound- District spokeswoman Nan-
ed, but cause big disrup- cy Wait said the message
tions to schools while tying is clear: We’re not joking
up police for hours or even around.
days. “Unfortunately that word
Experts say authorities’ swift didn’t get to the students
responses are underscor- and we started seeing
ing a climate in which even more students making
idle threats will result in seri- threats in the classroom,
ous consequences. and that was frightening to
“Kids make bad decisions their classmates,” she said.
and I think that in decades “Most of the time these stu-
past those decisions would dents didn’t have access
have been addressed be- to weapons, but they were
hind closed doors with the still making threats to shoot
principal and parents,” up their schools.”
said Ken Trump, president Don Bridges, president of