Over the summer, I traveled to Orlando to accept the School Safety Advocacy Council’s Award of Excellence, recognizing our Threat Management Program at the 2022 National School Safety Conference and Exposition, the largest school safety conference in the nation. I accepted the award on behalf of the terrific team of CCSO deputies who are dedicated to keeping our schools safe through unique initiatives that identify, prevent, intervene and investigate potential threats. Many of these deputies were in attendance at the award ceremony.

The day after the award, I met with U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart at CCSO Headquarters. The Congressman praised our Threat Management Program, calling it a model for school safety that should be replicated across the nation.

 

The goal of the program is to identify students who are exhibiting concerning behaviors and connect them with services before those behaviors escalate to threats.

 

The Threat Management team includes CCSO representatives from multiple bureaus, including Youth Relations, Behavioral Health, Special Investigations and more. The team meets regularly and works closely with community partners, including Collier County Public Schools and the David Lawrence Centers, to discuss emerging concerning behaviors. They develop a response plan for each student to bring them together with the appropriate service providers.

 

I believe our program is an investment in community safety. You have to make the investment, and your community has to commit to that investment. We have great partners here in Collier County.

 

I also believe that a proactive and committed approach, working together with the community, is the only way that we will make a difference in the future.