HCSO Asking Parents To Talk With Kids About Social Media Safety

The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office says it and their school resource officers are aware of the rise in school threats across the country being circulated on social media and are asking parents to talk with their kids about social media safety so they don’t get caught up in something.

The sheriff’s office says the school resource officers are working closely with their school’s administration and that all Hancock County schools have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to threats of any kind.

The sheriff’s office says, while the SROs cover internet and media safety every year within the schools, parents are also being asked to speak with their kids about the dangers associated with social media.

In a recent incident in Hancock County, a student was approached by a fake Snapchat account and when the student said they wanted nothing to do with the account the person running the account said something to the effect of “remember how easy it is for school shootings to happen.”

That prompted an investigation by the sheriff’s office which revealed that there was no actual threat to the school.

The sheriff’s office is also asking that parents ensure that location tracking on their child’s social media apps is turned off because that could allow others to pinpoint their location.