New app to help students

Students will be able to contact police department via text message

The Willowick Police Department will be launching a new app designed to allow kids to communicate directly with the police department via text messaging.

The smart phone app named STOP (Students Text Officer Protect) is designed specifically for students at Willowick Middle School and is believed to be one of the first in the country.

As far as Police Sgt. Bruce LaForge knows, there is nothing out there that provides youths a direct link to the police department where they can report “hey I heard this in the hallway today.”

“The app is not intended for emergencies, that’s 911,” LaForge said. “Our Facebook, Twitter and everything else is not monitored 24/7 but this app is. This is for these kids to go directly to us. They feel more comfortable on their phones and have more

“...They feel more comfortable on their phones and have more anonymity and it’s available 24/7.” — Police Sgt. Bruce LaForge

anonymity and it’s available 24/7.”

LaForge said the idea for the app came about due to the recent school shootings nationally.

“The (police) chief (Brian Turner) and the (Willowick) mayor (Rich Regovich) thought we were going to get inundated with calls,” LaForge said. “We thought we would come up with something proactive instead of stuff that goes into place after an incident happens.”

LaForge describes how he was holding his cell phone while talking to the chief when the thought occurred to him that at least 90 percent of kids have smart phones and wondered what if they could come up with an app for them to use.

“I’ve been there (police department) for over 20 years and realized kids don’t call us,” the sergeant said. “They tell parents when they hear “little Johnny” is planning on bringing a gun to school and they text.”

LaForge feels that where kids may be afraid to call the police, they wouldn’t be afraid to text.

Turner points out the one common denominator he has noticed was that after everyone one of those incidents it was “we knew it was going to be this kid.”

“Why isn’t this information being shared with the proper authorities prior to these events?” the chief said. “We discussed what we can do to make it easier for them to come out and get the information to us.”

The app is set up through a third party company. A cell phone which will monitored 24/7 will be set up in the police department dispatch center. Kids can download the app with parental consent on their smart phones or tablets and text information directly to the dispatchers on duty. If they see bullying or if there are threats or they want to report “we saw this, we read this, we heard this” it can all be done through the app, Turner said.

Photos can be sent as well from witnesses to help police in knowing who or what to look for, and this is all done with some anonymity.

Turner noted that he is going to rely on parents to really stress the importance that any misuse or abuse of this will result in consequences.

“It’s not an opportunity for someone to text ‘cops suck’ and send it directly to police dispatch, it needs to be maintained for what it’s for,” the chief said.

“We look to be proactive and we take our safety and our kids very seriously here.” Regovich said. “I think the core of Willowick is our kids.”

The app which has a price tag of $300 per year or $1,000 for a lifetime subscription won’t cost the school a dime, LaForge said.

Regovich added that taxpayers wouldn’t be paying for the app either and that he is looking for businesses to be corporate sponsors for it.

The app will not be available through the App Store or Amazon so access to it is limited only to the students at Willowick Middle School and the department won’t receive text from other communities outside their jurisdiction.

Turner and LaForge are hopeful that the app will take off and turn into a great thing that other cities will want to get on board with.

LaForge said he is willing to help other cities set up their own app linked to their police departments

Turner anticipates the app being fully functional and available when schools starts in August.