OSHKOSH, WI. (WTAQ-WLUK) — As Wisconsin’s kids head back to school, the state has a new way for students to report safety concerns.
The SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT (SUSO) Resource Center launched Wednesday, offering a 24/7, anonymous reporting system to increase school safety across Wisconsin.
Less than a year ago, police cars and emergency crews swarmed outside Oshkosh West High School.
School resource officer Mike Wissink had just shot a student in his office. Police say it happened after that student stabbed Wissink multiple times in the neck.
On the morning of the shooting-stabbing incident at Oshkosh West, court documents state that several students said suspect Grant Furhrman posted a message on Snapchat that said, “Today’s the day,” yet the incident still happened.
It’s these incidents that Attorney General Josh Kaul hopes the Speak Up, Speak Out program can prevent.
“What this provides is an additional option for students who have concerns about their own safety, the safety of others, or concerns about mental health issues,” Kaul said.
Sergeant Jeremy Bauman of the Neenah Police Department is the SUSO point of contact for Neenah, should a tip be received in the city.
“Some students might have just the fear of being that reporting person and having the suspects know who is doing the report,” he said. “Some of them might just have a fear of talking with principals or talking with police officers.”
Students, parents, school staff, or any community members can submit a school safety concern or threat via the SUSO website, mobile phone application (iOS/Android), or toll-free number: 1-800-MY-SUSO-1 (1-800-697-8776)
“When schools learn about something along those lines, this gives them a place where they can report that information and get an assessment done of the degree of danger from analysts, who are trained to assess those threats,” Kaul said.
Resource Center staff respond to tips directly, contacting school administrators, counselors and law enforcement.
“My responsibility is to work with the school liaison officer program or school resource officer program. I’m the first line supervisor for them,” Bauman explained. “Also, if they need any resources or need any help, they can call me and I can help set that up.”
SUSO analysts can also deploy critical response teams to schools during critical incidents, so that maybe what happened at Oshkosh West, doesn’t happen anywhere else.
Officials have been working with law enforcement, educators and schools across the state to educate and train school safety professionals on how to use SUSO in their schools, since June.
This program is supported by more than $2 million in federal grant funding from the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance.
You can learn more about the SUSO Resource Center on its website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
