'Understand the lingo.' CT schools get safety lesson in online extremism and swatting
The Safe Schools Summit at Yale West Campus taught schools have to tell a real threat from a hoax.
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School leaders across Connecticut got a lesson in safety on Thursday.
The Safe Schools Summit at the Yale West Campus in Orange brought together state police and security experts with superintendents and local law enforcement.
They’re learning how to manage “swatting” incidents, extremism and hate crimes.
“SWATTING” CALLS
“Swatting” is when someone makes a fake 911 call, sending police swarming to an unsuspecting home or school.
It happened in June at Bedford Middle School in Westport. A caller claimed an armed man was inside with explosives. It turned out to be a hoax – one of several across the state that morning.
“That’s a scary thing,” said Nicole Lake, deputy commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. “The question, ‘Is my child safe when I send them off to school in the morning?’ is no longer a given.”
Lake helped train school leaders how to tell a real emergency from a prank.
“You’ll have somebody say, ‘There's something happening in the second floor of the school in the bathroom,’” she said. “You can ask them, ‘What side of the building? What's the entrance to that?’”
“Swatting” calls often come from out-of-state or even other countries. The calls can be tough to trace because they are routed through multiple servers.
HATE CRIMES AND EXTREMISM
Schools are also learning about hate crimes – when to call law enforcement and how kids get targeted.
“They’re operating in cryptic chat rooms. They’re operating in the ‘dark web,’” said Detective Michael Dargan, with the Connecticut State Police Hate Crimes Unit. “They’ll utilize gaming platforms to recruit and lure youth.”
Matt Funchion, a school resource officer for Regional School District 10 in Harwinton, sees it up close.
“There are a lot of red flags for kids that are falling prey to these nihilistic, violent extremist groups,” he said.
“UNDERSTAND THE LINGO”
A new state law requires more parental controls on social media.
Apps will need parental consent to show your child a personalized feed. Plus, those feeds will be limited to one hour a day – unless a parent changes the setting. Kids will no longer receive notifications after 9 p.m. and they will see a pop-up warning about the mental health risks of social media.
Lake said, know how to use parental controls.
“Educate yourself as a parent about what your kids are talking about,” she said. “You have to try to understand the lingo.”
