New tool still promises anonymity
AMARILLO -- Austin Middle School had quite a scare last month when a student brought a gun to school.
The situation did not amount to much thanks to a tip to Student Crime Stoppers.
"It really made us realize that we were in so much danger and the teachers and Student Crime Stoppers just took care of it so quickly," said Beth Thompson, Austin Middle School Student Council Vice President.
Now Student Crime Stoppers wants students to put their fingers to work to text message in tips of criminal activity.
The new system is up and running in AISD thanks to a grant secured by Safe Schools/Healthy Students.
But the school cell phone policy will not change: there will still be no using cell phones during school hours.
"If they are on campus or off campus at a sporting event or an activity that is a nice option to be able to have is to be able to text instead of using the regular dialing," said Austin Middle School Principal David Vincent.
If there is an emergency during school hours, Vincent asks students to tell a teacher or get someone to call 911.
Thompson told ProNews 7 her friends know about the new crime stoppers tool and that they feel safer now that it is in place.
"This makes me feel so much safer because anything can happen and anything will and just the fact that we can be safe because we tell somebody about it is just amazing," said Thompson.
All tips will remain anonymous. Texts are routed through Canada in code. Students could see a cash reward if their tips lead authorities to a problem.
