The BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--From the School Department:
Since the beginning of this month some students in Brockton's public schools have been able to send anonymous texts and web tips to school administrators and School Police through a new software program, officials said in a prepared statement.
The Brockton Public Schools is now using TipSoft SMS, a text- and web-based anonymous tip line, in order to provide middle and high school students with an easy way to let school administrators and School Police know about bullying or other activities that concern them in and out of school.
“The safety of our students is our foremost priority. Students expect school to be a refuge for them, a place where they can concentrate on learning and feel safe in their environment,” said Superintendent of Schools Matthew H. Malone.
“Our administrators often hear of issues in the community before they happen, and TipSoft is another way students can share information or concerns about things going on around them that they think officials--school or police--need to know about.”
The popularity of text messaging has created a significant opportunity for students and the public to help fight crime, said Michael Thomas, acting executive director of operations for Brockton Public Schools.
The low-cost program allows students to text a message to school administrators, sharing information about potential problems at school, concern over a classmate’s behavior or reporting suspicious behavior they may have observed.
"TipSoft is going to be a big help to school administrators and police in preventing problems and dealing with issues in the community,” said Thomas, a former Housemaster at BHS.
“We hope the fact that it is completely anonymous will also empower kids to report bullying and come forward with information about things that concern them.”
Ward 5 School Committee Member Bill Carpenter found the program and recommended its implementation to fellow members of the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Safety & Security, a group that was formed to look at school safety districtwide, especially in the wake of a shooting outside the BHS gymnasium on the evening of Dec 2, 2009. Carpenter worked with Thomas,Brockton Police Officer Al Gazerro and Edward Jacoubs, director of grants and special projects for the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office, to bring TipSoft to the Brockton Public Schools.
Carpenter said he hopes students will use TipSoft as a help line, to reach out for help for themselves or friends who are coping with domestic or gang violence, who are being pressured to use drugs, teens who may be considering suicide or who know of dangerous behaviors in their midst.
“We’re trying to get our kids to communicate with us and tell us what’s going on using the means they are most comfortable with, which these days is text messaging,” said Carpenter.
“This is probably going to have a lot more to do with getting help and counseling and wraparound services, so that we can help kids deal with issues before they escalate … we are really looking to get a child that’s at risk in for a conversation with an adjustment counselor.”
Using TipSoft Text Tips, information may be anonymously received and securely replied to with complete confidence.
The service was built specifically to allow text messaging informants to remain anonymous by encrypting the text messages and routing them through several secure servers, protecting the personal details of the informant. The program was purchased for less than $3,000 and costs just $2,000 a year, Thomas said.
“This is an important tool for law enforcement, because the more information we have, the better able we are able to plan our response and formulate prevention,” said Lt. Donald Mills, who oversees the nine-member School Police unit.
TipSoft SMS also allows police to respond by text message to the originating cellphone without ever knowing the identity of the individual who left the tip.
The user’s information is always assigned an alias and a unique ID before being sent. This secure application allows the tipster and the investigator to have two-way dialog while keeping the user’s identity totally anonymous.
Using TipSoft, students can text school administrators through a secure server by texting 274637, the Brockton Public Schools’ TipSoft account. The students identify their school by typing in their school’s keyword, and then the information they want to convey.
For example, a South Middle School student would text 274637, put “Dragons” in the subject line and then text in their report. The call is routed through TipSoft’s server and sent anonymously to the South Middle School leadership team. Students can also send anonymous TipSoft reports through the district webpage, www.brocktonpublicschools.com, by linking through the “Contact Us” port.
The Brockton Public Schools encourages students to report information about any non-urgent illegal activity, such as vandalism, theft, the sale and distribution of drugs or information about crimes that are being planned.
Students who discover information from MySpace, Facebook or YouTube and anonymously text in a tip may help prevent a tragedy. Officials also hope this will be another avenue for students who are being bullied or who witness bullying to alert officials, Lt. Mills said.
TipSoft is currently used by the Colorado Public School System, University of Miami and in communities all across the United States, Canada and UK.
Additional information on TipSoft Text Tips can be found on the Web at www.smscrimetips.com.
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