Mobile Communication & Crime: Phones as a Safety Device in Schools

"In a perfect world, we would never have to

cover a school shooting again. Of all the stories I’ve covered from both the newsroom to the field, these always are the hardest and worst to cover. But the reality is, something will happen again involving teenagers and young adults, and because of this, we’ll see how the next great technology will impact the way we report on these stories."

- Kay Jones, AC360 Producer

Case Studies

The Columbine Massacre

Virginia Tech Shooting

VT Alerts

School Shootings Nationwide

..in our backyards: local issues

Local Shooting: Foss High School

01.04.07

Local Lockdowns

Lakewood Police Shooting: UW Alert texts warn students

Over 2,000 WSU students were diagnosed with H1N1

WSU does NOT have a mobile alert system

Instead, they have a hotline phone number to call in case of emergency

WSU Twitter: 206 followers

Recommendations

Ways to Engage

• Text Alerts• Promote and Inform• Multiple Channels of Communication

Amber Alert

AdministrationParents &

Legal Guardians

Students Law EnforcementChallenges

Sources

• Kay Jones, AC360 producer editorial – http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/04/20/covering-columbine-10-years-ago-today/

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacre#The_library_massacre

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre