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This time of year as we all sit down to do our taxes, it seems like gripping about the government becomes the true national pastime.
Our state legislators in Harrisburg are certainly not immune from this criticism, some of it is quite warranted.
But when credit it is due, we feel like it should be given, and this past week credit was certainly due.
In case you missed it, the Safe2Say Something Anonymous Reporting System swung into action earlier this month. It’s a statewide program enabling students, teachers, school administrators and others to detect and report potential threats of violence and other problems before they happen.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro, according to staff writer Bill O’Boyle’s Capitol Roundup in Sunday’s Times Leader, released statistics on the first week of the program.
According to Shapiro, the reporting system received 615 tips and calls from across Pennsylvania. Crisis center analysts processed every tip and referred more than several hundred to local law enforcement and school officials to follow up and interact with students.
And, remember, that was in just the first week.
An incident in Hazleton last week brought home just how vital a tool the system can be in keeping a children safe.
Early Thursday, a tip came in through Safe2Say about a 14-year-old who allegedly made a threat against the school via Snapchat.
With that information, police were able to respond to the juvenile’s home at approximately 4:30 a.m. and meet with adults there. Authorities said they found a licensed Glock .45-caliber handgun that was fully loaded and on top of a bedroom nightstand.
We may never know if the juvenile was serious about carrying out the alleged threat. What we do know is we didn’t have to find out the hard way.
The program was established and funded by the state legislature and signed into law last year by Gov. Tom Wolf.
“Pennsylvania students deserve a safe place to learn, free from the threat of violence from classmates or other individuals,” Shapiro said in announcing the program’s first week of activity and results. “I’m proud my office was entrusted by the legislature to run this new program focused on school safety. Working together with local law enforcement and school officials, we can make Pennsylvania safer for families, teachers and, most importantly, our students.”
We couldn’t agree with Shapiro more.
So here is a big thank you to everyone involved in Safe2Say program.
Students, school officials and others can go to www.safe2saypa.org to learn more about this new school safety initiative. They can also call 1-844-Safe2Say (844-723-2729) to report information.
We hope you will never have to use the tip line, but it’s good to know it’s there.
– Times Leader