DES MOINES, Iowa — The Safe and Sound app, a tool to protect students and staff in our schools, has already made a significant impact on our community's safety.
The app tries to empower students, teachers and community members to report anyone they believe could pose a threat to themselves and their schools.
So far this year, the Safe and Sound app tells Local 5 they have had 78 tips.
42 of them happened just in the last week.
Local 5 reached out to Iowa Safe and Sound for an on-camera interview, but due to a high volume of tips and work, they were unable to step away.
They did provide us with the following information: A majority of the school threat reporting the team has seen this year has been determined as hoax threats, originating and amplified on social media, with the intent of causing unnecessary alarm and disrupting schools.
Iowa Safe and Sound recommends that if you see a threat online, report it, don't re-post it.
You can report the post to local law enforcement or through the Safe and Sound app.
There are three easy ways to make an anonymous report.
You can call the tip line at 800-224-6018 or visit their website and download their free app.
On the website or app you will find the "Make a Report" form that's offered in nines different languages, broken down into five sections.
The first is a description of the concern/event. There you'll fill out all the information you know about the details of the threat. Was it on social media? What time and date it occurred? And other concern types.
Next, is a description of the person you believe is involved: Name, gender, race and physical features.
Then, if applicable, you can fill out the vehicle description portion. Lastly, you can upload any photo or video evidence you have and then click submit.
Iowa Safe and sound says, it's aware of two incidents received through the app which have resulted in arrest, but are not yet categorized as an arrest.
They are also aware of 61 other agency school-related incidents and 16 arrests which they are aware of. There is not a mandate to report so the 16 is a minimum, and the team says there certainly could be more across Iowa that they're not aware of.