This document seeks to support the efficient, timely, and appropriate sharing of information about threats to life from tip lines and social media platforms; it presents answers to frequently asked questions, in order to help law enforcement agencies, school officials, and tip line operators to promote promising practices for handling tips, leads, and threats to life.
This document’s target audience is federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial (FSLTT) law enforcement agencies, school officials, and tip line operators, with the goal of promoting promising practices regarding the handling of tips, leads, and threats to life (TTL), and to share success stories that highlight the importance of tips, leads, and TTL reporting. Frequently asked questions featured in this document fall into the following categories: hours of operation; statewide school safety tip lines; information flows for tips; duty to warn/duty to protect; misuse of tip lines; interagency sharing; privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties (P/CRCL); TTL records related to self-harm; juvenile records; outreach and engagement; and training. The document also discusses some success stories that demonstrate the importance of TTL reporting, including instances involving self-harm threats and threats to others’ lives.