Keep your students safe online with a new app

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - Teens and kids in school are surrounded by the internet’s opportunities whether educational or for entertainment, but that also leaves room for the opportunity of predators.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said 1 in 7 children online is being groomed.

The Minnesota Department Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is advising parents to discuss electronic device etiquette through an online safety checklist, which includes talking with your children about the risks of sending or sharing provocative images, being a good digital citizen such as no liking or sharing mean comments, and reporting instances of inappropriate online contact to eh new BCA tip app called ‘See it, Say it, Send it’.

The app was created in 2021 to make it easier for people to report threats of violence targeting Minnesota schools.

All tips are anonymous.

The BCA works with partners to plan a response when incidents are reported. The app is designed to help the bureau learn about threatened and planned violence in order to stop it before it occurs.

The BCA notifies either local law enforcement or appropriate authorities if the report is not criminal.

Since the app was launched, the BCA has received more than two dozen tips and 400,000 Minnesotans have downloaded the app.

“If something is concerning behavior, to go ahead and use this app, if it’s something that doesn’t rise to level of calling your local police, we’ll vet that information and if it’s nothing than great, we know that that happened but if it’s something we can disrupt that. Unfortunately, across the United States we’ve seen situations where we’ve had violent school shootings where we’re trying to prevent in all of our communities across Minnesota,” said Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

You can download the app here.