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NOW. TONIGHT, ����vlog INVESTIGATES HOW FREQUENTLY IOWANS ARE USING A STATEWIDE ANONYMOUS TIP LINE TO REPORT SCHOOL SAFETY INCIDENTS. WE FOUND THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY RECEIVED 432 TIPS DURING 2024 THROUGH ITS SAFE AND SOUND APP. ����vlog CHIEF POLITICAL REPORTER AMANDA ROOKER JOINS US IN STUDIO NOW. AMANDA, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE’RE SEEING DATA FROM A FULL CALENDAR YEAR ON THIS APP. IT IS STACEY AND BEN. THAT APP WAS LAUNCHED IN MARCH OF 2023. STUDENTS, TEACHERS, PARENTS OR ANYONE WITH A SAFETY CONCERN CAN ANONYMOUSLY REPORT TIPS THROUGH THE SAFE AND SOUND APP. THOSE TIPS ARE IMMEDIATELY VETTED BY DISPATCHERS AND SENT TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT. FROM THE START OF 2024 THROUGH THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, THE SAFE AND SOUND APP RECEIVED BETWEEN 30 AND 40 TIPS EACH MONTH. USE DROPPED DURING THE SUMMER, BUT SKYROCKETED IN SEPTEMBER, WITH MORE THAN 100 TIPS RECEIVED THAT MONTH ALONE. ANONYMOUS REPORTS KEPT COMING IN LAST FALL, BUT THE NUMBER OF TIPS DROPPED EACH MONTH THROUGH DECEMBER. WE WERE A SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT DID NOT SIGN UP FOR IT IN THE BEGINNING. LAST YEAR, TOM MESSENGER, THE NEWTON SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT, WAS AMONG MEMBERS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS AND STATE OFFICIALS WHO DISCUSSED THE SAFE AND SOUND APP DURING THE GOVERNOR’S SCHOOL SAFETY TASK FORCE MEETINGS. THE GROUP MET FOR MONTHS DISCUSSING HOW TO IMPROVE SCHOOL SAFETY. OURS IS VERY TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER OF OUR WEBSITE FOR SAFE AND SOUND, AND AS A RESULT, WE WE WE CONTINUE TO HAVE PEOPLE REPORTING DIFFERENT THINGS THAT GET INVESTIGATED, LIKE NEWTON, SEVERAL DISTRICTS ACROSS THE STATE USE THE DISCUSSED SAFE AND SOUND APP, BUT OTHER DISTRICTS HAVE THEIR OWN SYSTEMS. AND DURING A MEETING LAST MONTH, THE GOVERNOR’S SCHOOL SAFETY BUREAU CHIEF SAID DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DISTRICTS COULD SLOW DOWN THE PROCESS IN REPORTING TIPS AND RESPONDING TO INCIDENTS. THE ISSUE THAT WE’RE SEEING, THOUGH, IS THAT BECAUSE OF THE THE GEOGRAPHICAL EXPANSION OF SOCIAL MEDIA, RIGHT, JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING’S HAPPENING IN NEWTON DOESN’T MEAN IT’S GOING TO BE FIRST SEEN BY A NEWTON STUDENT. YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IT VERY WELL COULD BE SEEN OVER IN DECORAH, RIGHT? DOES THAT DECORAH STUDENT ACTUALLY KNOW WHO TO GET AHOLD OF? MEMBERS OF THE TASK FORCE SENT RECOMMENDATIONS TO STATE LAWMAKERS. THEY WANT A NEW LAW TO REQUIRE SCHOOLS TO SIGN UP FOR THE SAFE AND SOUND APP, AND PROMINENTLY PUT LINKS TO THE SAFETY TOOL ON THE HOMEPAGE OF THEIR SCHOOL WEBSITE. NOW, THE GOVERNOR’S SCHOOL SAFETY BUREAU SAYS IT DOES NOT TRACK HOW MANY OF THE TIPS RECEIVED THROUGH THE SAFE AND SOUND APP LED TO AN INTERVENTION OR ARREST, OR HOW MANY OF THOSE TIPS WERE DETERMINED TO BE FALSE REPORTS. THE AGENCY SAYS EACH TIP IS INVESTIGATED AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, EITHER BY SCHOOL OFFICIALS OR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND THEY ARE NOT REQUIRED TO SHARE THE OUTCOME WITH THE SCHOOL SAFETY BUREAU. STACY. AMANDA. THANK YOU. NOW, THE APP FIRST LAUNCHED IN 2023. YOU CAN FIND A FULL EXPLANATION OF HOW THE APP WORKS AND HOW YOU CAN REPORT ANY CONCERNING BEHAVIOR THAT MAY BE HAPPENING IN YOUR STUDENT’S SCHOOL.