A a suspicious activity reporting app will allow Florida students and others to relay information anonymously about unsafe, potentially harmful, dangerous, violent or criminal activities -- or the threat of these activities -- to appropriate public safety agencies and school officials.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), in collaboration with the Department of Legal Affairs, is set to release the new mobile reporting tool called FortifyFL in the next two weeks.
It is designed to empower students so that when they see something, they can say something to the appropriate authorities right away.
According to state public safety legislation that addresses gun violence and school campuses, which became effective in March, information reported through the FortifyFL app must be forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement agency and school officials. The law also requires the suspicious activity information be available to law enforcement dispatch centers, school districts, schools and other entities.
Damien Kelly, the executive director the Florida Office of Safe Schools, recently told the State Board of Education the suspicious activity reporting app is designed to send information for threat assessment -- including directly to the school resource officer assigned to individual schools -- and some tips will go directly to 911, according to the Associated Press.
As part of the launch FDLE, the Florida Office of Attorney General and the Department of Education are to provide training on the tool.
