After the shocking events of Colorado’s Columbine High School shooting, which left 15 people dead and many more wounded, Colorado’s Attorney General Ken Salazar and Governor Bill Owens convened a state-wide study to offer recommendations that could prevent another school massacre from ever happening again. As a direct outcome of the Columbine Commission’s Report, the Safe2Tell® Initiative was created to implement a critical recommendation –
To provide an anonymous venue for parents, students, teachers, school administrators, and law enforcement to share information.
Research shows that in 81% of violent incidents in U.S. schools, someone other than the attacker knew it was going to happen but failed to report it [1]. Typically, the information goes unreported because of fear of being a ’snitch’ or that the attacker will then target the informant, thereby creating a ‘code of silence’.
To penetrate this code of silence, Safe2Tell® was created as a statewide anonymous reporting tool available 24 hours a day to accept calls whenever a Colorado youth or concerned adult perceives a threat to their safety or the safety of others. Anonymity is key. Both state law and the procedures established by Safe2Tell® guarantee the anonymity of every caller. Calls are answered at a Colorado State Patrol communication center. When action is needed, information is immediately forwarded to local school officials and law enforcement agencies, as appropriate. Safe2Tell® then goes the extra step by following up with the school and law enforcement agencies which received the report to ensure that it was investigated, that action was taken and that the outcome was tracked. The assurance that calls cannot be traced and that appropriate action will be taken is helping persuade young people to move away from a code of silence and to take a stand. Safe2Tell® is creating positive peer pressure and empowering young people to keep their community safe.
Safe2Tell® is a 501(c)(3) non-profit governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. The members of the Board are prominent stakeholders from multi-disciplinary backgrounds who set policy and give operational direction.
[1] US Secret Service and US Department of Education, The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative and Implications of School Attacks in the United States. May 2002, p.34.
