Barbara Latkowski
Caledonia Courier
In light of the recent creepy clown phenomenon that has now affected local northern communities, including Fort St. James, “Safer Schools Together” is encouraging parents to talk to their children regarding these threats.
On the morning of Oct. 7, a social media post was received that contained a threat to all schools in Fort St. James.
The threat resembled that of a similar threat in Prince George just the day before where schools were locked down and two males were later arrested.
These clown incidents have spread across North America and Europe. People disguise themselves as clowns and attempt to frighten strangers.
And in some cases, acts of violence have resulted from these threats.
Theresa Campbell, president of “Safer Schools Together” urges parents to talk to their children about reporting these threats if they see them on social media and to bring them to the attention of school officials and to police.
“It is also important to make students aware that if they engage in or participate in any way in this type of threat related behaviour, they will experience discipline and/or criminal charges, Campbell said.
“Safer Schools Together” has helped many schools in violence and bullying behavior Prevention and intervention strategies.
All school districts in BC have through the ERASE Bulling Strategy, received training in assessing and responding to threat related behaviour.
According to “Safer Schools Together”, the majority of these threats are appearing throughout social media platforms primarily through Instagram and Snapchat accounts.
There has been no violence reported so far, but the RCMP also urges parents to play a role in their child’s social media activity and report any suspicious activity.
For more information regarding “Safer Schools Together”, visit: saferschoolstogether@gmail.com
For tips for parents regarding children and social media, visit: www.cybertip.ca and www.safeonlineoutreach.com