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New app hopes to increase safety of students in Palm Beach County

Posted at 11:04 PM, Mar 28, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-29 04:46:32-04

The Palm Beach County School District, its police department along with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office rolled out its new safety app Wednesday, designed to make schools safer.

Just search “PBC StudentProtect” in the app store for Apple and Android. It’s for students, faculty and parents.

Users can pick which schools in the county you want to hear alerts about. They can also call 911 from the app, and it will provide the exact GPS where you are calling from so first responders can find you.

Users can also report potential threats or bullying, provide a description and photo. All tips are be passed onto the proper agency. You can do so anonymously or provide your name.

We talked to an 8th grader about the idea of this app, and she was on board, especially since so many kids these days are tech savvy.

Unyia Jackson, an 8th grader at Jeaga Middle School said, “We use it real fast so you know, it’s helpful.

If a student is getting bullied, anything that’s going on in school that’s not safe, we can pull our phone out, get on the app and say something and no body knows who that is.”

If you make false reports, they are investigated too, the sheriff’s office says.