Indiana sheriff says online threats against schools becoming more difficult to investigate

GEORGETOWN, Ind. (WDRB) -- Officials at Highland Hills Middle School in Georgetown, Indiana, said a threat against the school that was investigated Wednesday was not credible, but extra officers were on-hand when classes started Thursday.

Families received a phone call Wednesday evening from New Albany Floyd County Schools Assistant Superintendent Steve Griffin, who stated the district learned of a threat and contacted police. The message stated the threat had been investigated and found not to be credible.

Floyd County Sheriff Frank Loop said the threat originated on social media, and that one of his deputies who works as a resource officer conducted an investigation, including a home visit, and determined the threat was not legitimate.

"The student that was identified, didn't have the ability, didn't have the knowledge, didn't have any of that," he said. "We asked the school system to put out a message last night so that parents were comfortable sending their child to school."

Loop said he also increased security presence at the school Thursday morning "just because some people would be uneasy."

"I had several phone calls last night and people want to know, 'Is it OK to send my kid to school?' My answer always is that is the safest place for your child to be," he said.

Loop said in a case like this where the threat is not credible or criminal, discipline is left up to the school.

Neither the district nor the school has responded to WDRB News' request for comment on what specific actions were taken in this case.

According to Highland Hills' handbook, threats to others/intimidation can result in either student alternative lab (SAL) or out of school suspension (OSS).

SAL is an alternative to OSS in which a student must return his/her form signed by a parent or guardian, take study materials and follow directions of a supervisor, according to the handbook.

Work in SAL will replicate classroom work as closely as possible and will be counted in the student’s grade. Failure to follow directions in SAL may lead to an out of school suspension.

Loop says in the age of digital media, investigating online threats has become more common and more difficult.

"When I first started here, you'd get the springtime bomb threats and that would be a phone call. Now we don't see too much of that. What we do see is the social media things," he said.

Because social media can be accessed by anyone and from anywhere, Loop said he often sees threats that don't originate locally.

"Sometimes we track them down and they're not even from here or have nothing to do with here. Or, they're so ambiguous they don't even identify the school," he said. "But then someone at the school picks it up and then shares it.

"That's why they're always difficult because you have a hard time tracking that down. Unless somebody identifies themselves or we have the ability to track where it came from, if it comes across on TikTok or Snapchat or wherever, we have to go to those organizations and subpoena that information. A lot of times it's more difficult than what you think because they're not using their real identity."

Loop said during his 40 years on the job, he's also seen an increase in the amount of training officers go through related to social media and identifying threats.

Ultimately, the sheriff said if you see something, say something.

"Our goal is to make sure our school systems are safe, and I think we accomplish that daily," Loop said.