Concerns over campus safety were front and center during a recent school safety forum in the Liberty School District, where Buckeye Police Chief Bob Sanders laid out the force's approach to handling school threats. According to the Buckeye Police Department, the strategy includes treating every threat as credible until proven otherwise and relying on thorough investigations to determine the true nature of threats made on social media.
When a threat is made against a school, the Buckeye PD collaborates closely with school officials, performing interviews, and gathering evidence with the help of a School Resource Officer (SRO). These officers are not only present to maintain order during school hours, but also to educate students about the risks of social media, and to respond to emergency situations including, but not limited to, school threats. In the case of such incidents, these trained SROs are ready to take action, often working tirelessly into the wee hours to get to the bottom of potential dangers.
One pertinent question fielded by Chief Sanders was about the consequences for those making threats. "If an investigation determines a juvenile suspect made threats against a school, they are arrested and booked into jail on felony charges," as reported by the city's official announcement. Charges can range from disorderly conduct to disruption of an educational institution; schools also may respond with suspension or expulsion.
Moreover, when a threat surfaces online, parents and students have been urged to report, not repost, to prevent obstructing the investigative process. This effort forms part of a larger campaign involving the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and Valley law enforcement agencies. The aim is to curb teen violence and streamline the tracking down of threats’ origins. To assist in this, sharing threats has been discouraged since it hampers the ability of, investigators to locate the person responsible.
As for training, the Buckeye Police uses a Standard Response Protocol based on the "I love u guys" model covering various phases of a campus crisis. Collaborative drills, exercises, and ongoing reviews are part of this protocol to keep evolving their practices with the changing times and threats. To report a school threat, individuals are asked to get in touch with Buckeye PD through their non-emergency line or through their online tip system, which also allows the submission of screenshots of the threat.
