SafeOregon tip line getting more use with heightened safety concerns

The Parkland, Florida, school shooting has increased student awareness of threats and generated more use of the SafeOregon tip line, according to the program’s quarterly report.

SafeOregon, a statewide program started in January 2017, allows students, staff or the public to anonymously report potential threats for intervention before tragedy strikes. The program is free, but schools must sign up at safeoregon.com. As of the end of February, 910 schools had enrolled. SafeOregon is available around the clock and can be reached by phone or text (844-472-3367), email (tip@safeoregon.com), website (SafeOregon.com), or mobile app for Android and iOS phones.

The December-February report lists 381 tips, more than the previous three quarters combined. On March 2, a SafeOregon tip led to the arrest of a St. Helens High School student accused of making threatening statements. 

About a third of the reports were for bullying or harassment. The line also allows young people to reach out about threats of self-harm or dangers to their friends. In the last quarter, the line received 28 suicide-related concerns. Last year, a tip sent two Hermiston officers to the home of a teen who tried to kill himself. They found him unconscious and not breathing, and they saved his life.