APPLETON, Wis. — Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Paul (D) was in Appleton Tuesday, as a school safety training session was held at Appleton North High School.
- Behavioral and threat assessment training was held for people like law enforcement, school staff, and mental health workers at Appleton North High School
- The training was part of the Wisconsin Office of School Safety, which holds the training sessions around the state
- Speak Up Speak Out is a tip line that allows for the reporting of safety concerns
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, edited for web.)
It is still summer vacation, but there’s teaching going on inside Appleton North High School.
It’s for people like law enforcement, school staff, and mental health workers.
It’s called behavioral and threat assessment training.
State Attorney General Josh Kaul (D) says the goal is to teach, “How to determine if an individual poses a danger to others, then how to intervene and prevent violence before it happens.”
He says training like this is going on around the state.
The director of the Wisconsin Office of School Safety, within the Wisconsin Department of Justice, is Trish Kilpin.
She talked about the importance of reporting someone who might be planning something like a school shooting.
“Because [the person’s actions are] planned and predatory, it is observable. They go through certain behaviors, and often times leak their intentions to peers… it can be observed in their writings, in different indicators that they may be on a pathway to intended violence.”
That’s where reporting comes in.
There’s a state tip line called Speak Up Speak Out. Tips can be submitted by phone, text, website, or app (details below).
Capt. Jack Taschner from the Appleton Police Department talked about how the tip line can alert authorities as soon as a tip is made.
“The value of having 24/7 monitoring is unbelievable. Being able to get on top of things at midnight, as opposed to 8 a.m. when students are already there, it’s invaluable,” Taschner said.
Note:
To report a tip to the Speak Up Speak Out tip line:
Dial 1-800-MY-SUSO-1, or
Text “SUSO” to 738477, or
Online here, or
Download the app to submit a tip here
