School Threats Continue

By Holli Haerr

As you may have noticed, News 12 Long Island has been reporting on a string of threats at local schools in the past month. Some schools have gotten several threats - including North Babylon, West Babylon and Miller Place. (Although there are many other schools that have faced threats as well.)

When photographer Ron Vilca and I headed out this morning to talk to different districts about how they're handling things, we didn't know we'd be seeing yet another possible bomb threat. As we pulled up to West Babylon High School, we noticed police cars parked outside. Then, we saw students standing in the field.

Fortunately, nothing was found and school resumed. But this is a situation that has been repeated all too often lately at our schools.

Districts are taking different approaches to handle the situation. For example: they're monitoring where students are in the hallways during the day, closing certain bathrooms, putting in surveillance cameras and making students sign out with a teacher when they leave a classroom.

Officials hope these measures will give students less of a chance to write a threat on a wall. They're also hoping if students lose privileges - they may pressure other kids NOT to make threats.

Suffolk's Police Commissioner says it's not just a waste of time for students and teachers, it's also a drain on county resources. He says they have to take every threat very seriously; and they send patrol officers, forensics and detectives to schools that receive threats.

He also says he wants everyone to know, that making a school threat - even for a hoax - is a felony, and someone convicted could face up to seven years behind bars.

Police and school officials are urging anyone with information on who is making the threats to call Crime stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. The caller can be anonymous.

Comments

[Fay]

Enough is enough. It would be interesting if some of the people who feel they have to make these threats would respond on this blog to tell the rest of us: "why?"