How schools decide whether threats are credible

Updated: 1:05 p.m. | Posted: 8:07 a.m.

Two Minneapolis high schools were on alert this week after receiving threats to school safety, spurring a debate on whether the threats were credible enough to warrant canceling classes.

Washburn High School went on a modified lock-down on Thursday and Southwest High School was closed entirely on Wednesday following a bomb threat. Police ultimately found both buildings to be safe.

Ken Trump, president of the National School Safety and Security Services, said schools need to have a protocol for dealing with these sorts of threats and communicating decisions to the public.

"The general rule has always been that the greater the detail and specificity of a threat, the greater the credibility," Trump said. "That said, every threat, regardless of the level of detail, has to be treated seriously and investigated thoroughly."

The best way to investigate threats is dependent on the particular situation. Trump said administrators should not necessarily evacuate the school.

"There should be a very conservative approach to evacuations and closing schools, because once you do that you are at higher risks of having repeat occurrences," Trump said. "It should be a last resort, it should be based on the credibility of the threat."

Those who threaten schools are identified in most cases, Trump said. He recommends that students be educated on the repercussions they may face for threatening schools.

"We have far too many young people who are making poor choices without realizing that they're facing suspension and expulsion from school and, many times, felony criminal charges — all of which are going to stick with them throughout their lives, oftentimes due to a very bad decision they can't revoke," Trump said.

Minneapolis Public Schools officials told MPR News earlier in the week that the closures may have been an inconvenience for parents, but that the decisions were made to ensure student safety.