PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — There is a new threat tracking system now in place at schools across Florida. The purpose: to prevent school shootings.
Bob Gualtieri, Pinellas County Sheriff, said the new system will keep threat records organized.
Mercedes Mejia has two grandchildren in Pinellas County Schools and worries about their safety regularly.
"There's too many people out there with guns that shouldn't have guns, and we've seen what's happening at other schools, so we definitely need safety for our children at schools," said Mejia.
But with the new system in place, she feels a little more comfortable sending them to school every day.
As of January 1, a new threat-tracking system is now being used in schools all over the state.
"It's a new era in the time of threat management in the state of Florida," said Sheriff Gualtieri.
Gualtieri said 22,000 people in school districts and emergency response departments have been training for the new system since August.
"The goal is to prevent school shootings from happening and to prevent these attacks, and the best way to do that is to identify concerning behavior at the earliest possible time," he said.
He said before schools in the state used several different software to document threats... some even using pen and paper, but now there's one seamless digital program that schools will use.
Sheriff Gualtieri said the new system allows a child's threat record to travel with them easily.
"So if you had a kid who went to Okaloosa County, and there was a threat assessment, there was a threat management, a minor treatment plan put in place, and then the kid moved down to Broward County, then Broward County would have immediate access to it," he said.
The sheriff also said the new system will help determine if a threat is serious or not.
"They are going to conduct that initial evaluation and if they think it warrants it, then it goes to the full school threat management team, they are going to do a full evaluation, then go through a whole process of information collecting, and gathering, and analysis and evaluation. If they think there is something to it, then they are going to rate the threat on low, medium or high," he said.
Officials said the program is more efficient and makes it easier to identify if a threat is urgent.
"If you don't get any information, and nobody is reporting these things, then you're going to miss one that is consequential and could result in some really bad things happening," said Sheriff Gualtieri.
Once a threat is identified, faculty and law enforcement will help the student receive counseling.
Mejia said the new system puts her mind at ease.
"The teachers are right there with the children and in a situation that requires them to make the right move. It's important for them to know what to do," said Mejia.
While Sheriff Gualtieri said schools and his department will continue to do active shooter drills, he's optimistic that the state-wide program will make a difference.
"We want to keep that in the drawer and never have to use it, and this is the greatest opportunity for that to happen," he said.
