The Paso Robles Unified School District has seen a rise in online threats over the past year.
“We deal with 3 to 4 threats per month,” said Tom Harrington, Director of Student Services at Paso Robles Unified School District. “We take everything seriously and we investigate it and we have a process in order to do that.”
That’s an increase over previous years, but Harrington says it’s not an overwhelming amount.
Harrington is heavily involved in the protocol when school threats come in.
He links the rise in cases to an increase in reporting among the community.
“We have a tip line, we have parents that are more willing to come forward and report these students," Harrington said. "We receive quite a few tips from students just walking in and saying, 'Hey, I’m concerned about this social media post', or 'Hey, this person made a comment to me'.”
Harrington works closely with multiple districts countywide to mitigate threats. The group 'STAMP' is determined to stay on top of potential issues.
“We meet once a month to go over our threats, so we have as much experience on these issues,” Harrington said.
School Resource Officers also play a large part in the effort to keep threats at bay. They roam campuses in the district to be ready to react, but also as a preventative measure.
Walter Canizalez is a Paso Robles Police Officer and a School Resource Officer for the Paso Robles Unified School District.
“Our main job is to build relationships within the community, build relationships with students and parents to mitigate some of the issues that could potentially turn into criminal,“ Canizalez said.
They do that by hosting events like 'Coffee or Cocoa with a Cop' among other efforts.
“That opens up the door and lets them know that hey, we as officers for negative consequences — we are here for somebody to talk to if you have a concern,” Canizalez said.
Canizalez says their relationship with students is secondary to parents communicating with their children and watching out for red flags at home.
“Unfortunately, active shootings and things of that nature have become more commonplace," Canizalez said. "Things like manifestos or just a change in behavior, something like drug use, can all be mitigated by parent involvement.“
Harrington also has advice for parents to help get ahead of any issues. "Have communication with their student. They are the ones that are on social media. They are the ones communicating with their peers. They are the ones who usually get information first."
