POLK COUNTY, Fla. — The Polk County Sheriff's Office is taking steps to expand how they investigate threats of violence at the county's schools and beyond, adding analysts to a unit whose task it will be assess threats 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- Polk Co. Public Schools: School staff investigated 953 threats to harm students in 2018-19
- Threats Intelligence Unit analysts, detectives will research people behind threats
- Unit will focus on all threats, not just school-related ones
- More Polk County stories
According to Polk County Public Schools, school staff investigated 453 threats to harm other students this school year, more than triple the number from last school year.
It’s one of the reason the Polk County Sheriff’s Office is ramping up its efforts to investigate these threats.
Currently, the agency does not have people assigned to investigate them after hours or on the weekends. To help make schools safer, the Sheriff's Office is adding analysts to investigate threats 24-7.
"If a threat manifests during the evening, rather than patrol or detectives handling it and then kicking it to intelligence unit the next morning for follow up, it will be immediate follow up,” said Sheriff Grady Judd.
The sheriff said the analysts or detectives assigned to the Threats Intelligence Unit will do the leg work and research the person making the threat.
"What kind of history do they have, have they been arrested, have they threatened before, are they a high-profile problem person with a criminal history, or are they an eighth grader who thought it'd be cute to run his mouth?” Judd said, explaining what the analysts would investigate.
The unit will focus on all threats, not just those that are school related.
The sheriff's office is already adding people to this unit and hopes to have all positions filled by next school year.
While the analysts will look at social media to find threats, it wants the public to abide by the model that if they see something or hear something to say something. To reach the analysts in the Threats Intelligence unit, simply call 911 and report the threat and it will be sent to them.
Difference of opinion on arming teachers
Judd is also adamant that teachers need to be able to volunteer to carry a gun in schools.
Polk County Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd, meanwhile, said she prefers the guardian program.
“We have a program that we’ve created here with the sheriff's office, our school guardian program, which has really proven to be beneficial," Byrd said. "It’s working very well for us."
"It’s one that’s being recognized not only across the state, but across the nation," she went on. "So when it comes to arming teachers, we have something in place where teachers can teach and our guardian program is doing a fabulous job, and that’s the program we look to continue."
“She’s not comfortable with arming teachers at this time and I understand," Judd said. "She also understands that I am comfortable, if we do the right selection and evaluation and training with arming teachers. We’ll work through it together.
Sheriff Grady Judd said he plans to meet with Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd in the future to discuss the matter.