What to do in case of an online threat

Many of the increasing threats around the nation come from social media. In the world of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, it’s easy to threaten someone from behind a screen. However, don’t think this will protect you from police.

In the days following the Florida high school shooting, more and more schools have received threats. But it’s not just schools getting threatened, people online are seeing it too. So, what can happen if you’re threatened online? Well, no matter the location, the victim can call the police.

“This is difficult because it’s online,” Chief Bryce Johnson of the Idaho Falls Fire Department, said. “So it could be around the world, right? So it’s where the victim is at is the jurisdiction that’s gonna take care of the case.”

While there are varying degrees of threats, whether you contact authorities depends on how the threat makes you feel.

“It’s really in the eye of the beholder what how you feel about it,” Chief Johnson said. “And if it causes you enough concern, we’re happy to come out and investigate and see what we can do.”

Chief Johnson says the threats are making many people on edge and it’s important to not get complacent.

“I think we’ve learned that when we get complacent that’s when we let things slip through the cracks,” Johnson said. “And so if there’s a threat out there we want to take a look at it, see if there’s something to it. See if there’s something we need to follow up on. See if there’s something we can stop from happening.”

He says now is a good time to talk to your child about what’s been happening and the seriousness of making threats.

“I think every parent needs to sit down with their kid and talk to them about it,” Chief Johnson said. “What, you know, how do you interact with your peers, what’s going on, how do peers interact with you. I think it’s a good time for all of us to sit down and talk with our kids about what’s going on and schools everywhere.”

If the person threatening you is in a different city or state, authorities from both locations can work together. If you do feel scared or threatened online, many forms of social media have ways to report or block someone. And you can always call the police.

Chief Johnson also wanted to remind the public, if you see something, say something. It could make a big difference.