(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Safe2Tell said it experienced an unprecedented 74% increase in reports for September 2024 from the same month in 2023. Safe2Tell said the increase was in part fueled by school threats and misinformation.
According to Safe2Tell, in September Safe2Tell received 239 reports related to threats with 193 of them about planned school attacks. The reports were part of a trend seen nationwide in September and many of the duplicate reports originated from a small number of social media posts about school threats.
Safe2Tell said the posts were often shared, altered, and misinterpreted, leading people to believe the threats applied to different schools across the state and country, leading to the same concerns being reported multiple times, even though they referred to the same original posts.
“We typically see an uptick in reporting after a tragedy like the one in Georgia, as students become more vigilant,” explained Safe2Tell Director Stacey Jenkins. “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.”
Safe2Tell said September had a 162% increase in reports from August, with the common issues being suicide, bullying, and school safety concerns involving a staff member. Safe2Tell said school safety concerns involving a staff member can range from allegations of a teacher-student relationship to a teacher assigning too much homework contributing to a student’s depression and anxiety.
