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Friday, 19 December 2014 09:11

Hotline Allows Students to Send Officials Concerns Featured

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To send an anonymous tip through the hotline, text the word "friends" then your message to 274637.

The Weber School District is pleased to introduce The Friends Hotline, an SMS Text-A-Tip application that allows students to anonymously submit information to participating law enforcement agencies and schools about situations that they feel are a threat to their safety or the safety of others. This is a secure application that allows the tipster and the investigator to have a two-way dialog while keeping the tipster’s identity completely anonymous. The program is being offered through a partnership with the Ogden Police Department Real Time Crime Center, the Weber County Sheriff’s Office, and all police departments in Weber County that serve our students.

Students may hesitant to report threatening behavior such as bullying, threats, fights, weapons, alcohol, drugs, sexual misconduct, dating violence, or suicidal behaviors for fear of retaliation. This valuable programs allows tipsters make anonymous reports both on and off campus. When a text message is received, it is sent to a computer system located in Canada. All identifiers (student phone number) on the text are stripped from the message, then forwarded to our representatives. The student will not be identified unless they wish to be.

To use the system, the student will begin their message with the word "friends", enter a space, list their school name and send the message to 274637. The word friends must be first and must be followed by a space or the message will fail. The word "friends" is not case sensitive. The student will receive a return text immediately asking them to call 911 if it is an emergency, and it provides the student an identifier code so that the computer can communicate with them. The counselor or SRO may then communicate with the student’s alias if the student allows. If the student does not wish to have further communication, they may text STOP and the texting will end.

Our goal is to allow students who are not comfortable speaking to our administration or school resource officers the opportunity to share information about their concerns. It is important for the students to know that all reports go to a real time crime center and are logged. Prank text messages will be treated seriously.

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