Scared & need your thoughts -DD is getting notes

[HarambeGuy]

Wishing is right about direct contact with police. "Notified" is a fuzzy term - if you don't have an actual case number, you don't have actual police involvement.

The point some of us are trying to make is simply that schoold officials are not trained to solve crimes, the police are. This is not to criticize the OP but simply to point out that there are still steps that could yet be taken. Why not go the extra mile?

And another thing - we who have suggested this course of action have also added messages of support to the thread. So please don't try to paint us as callous boors who are just trying to upset the apple cart.

(and FWIW, the Disboards is the last place I would look for unanimous opinion on ANY topic...doesn't take long to figure that out!)

 

[Wishing on a star]

thank you harambeguy,

I am very very sorry, and I do realize that negligent is a strong word.

And, I can see that the OP may have thought that dealing with the school was enough. I am trying to see her perspective here. I am not simply 'turning' on her!

However, I can find no other word to describe the failure to go directly to the Police Dept, and to file a report on a death threat.

Hugs to the OP!!!!

 

[nativetxn]

It doesn't matter who is writing these notes. One way or another, they need to stop.

I just said a quick prayer for your daughter's safety.

Katholyn

 

[Nancy]

You keep stating that you are "With Everyone Else here". Well, you're certainly not "with" me. If you bothered to read everything the OP has stated you will see they have filed with the police and it is being handled as it needs to be.

Quite frankly I am surprised time and time again at how this 'community' of people can just turn on each other especially in situations where the only thing warranted is support and positive feedback. It is rude to accuse someone who comes here looking for support of being 'negligent'. How is that supportive and how does that help the situation? This thread is full of speculation, some of which has been helpful and some of which has been terribly rude.

I would be doing exactly what the OP is doing. I would first go to the school and tell them what is going on and have the police work with the school. I also would not want to instill any more panic in my daughter, it is probably hard enough to get her to be calm about all this. For those that feel it could possibly be the daughter doing it herself....do you all think that she would continue this even knowing the police are involved? I know my girls at that age would have been in tears by this time telling me they were doing it, and saying please don't let the police take me away. I would also still be sending her to school but I'd be doing lots of volunteer work during all this. Hopefully it will all be resolved soon.

 

[damo]

Wishing on a Star, the incident is happening in Ontario. The procedures are different in Canada than what you may be used to in the US. I think the OP is handling the situation exactly the way it should be handled and normally is handled up here.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

Simply discussing this with the school resource officer may not be the same thing as filing an official complaint and involving a police detective.
The OP has still never stated that she has, quote, "filed a report/complaint". Have she and her DH actually signed anything?

If there is a true threat to this little girl, then it is imperitive that this case is handled appropriately, and not mishandled.

So true! The school resource officer is NOT a detective.A detective needs to be involved 100% any time a death threat is in question. And the sooner the better!

The OP said tomorrow is a PD day. I don't know what that means. Does she mean that they have the day off from school? If so, is anyone in the school going to be "working" on this case? Or will it wait until Monday when school resumes?

 

[VSL]

Something still isn't adding up...

I mean, how old are these kids? Preteens?
(sorry, I'm British and have very little idea about how the US school system works!)

And if it's a kid doing this how come the teacher hasn't recognised the handwriting? And these notes seem to be showing up at times when the kids aren't supposed to be there... who is making sure that they aren't? Who is watching?

And I'm still stunned that the little girl is being sent to school... after having a death threat.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

I mean, how old are these kids? Preteens?
(sorry, I'm British and have very little idea about how the US school system works!)

/QUOTE]


She is 9, I believe. I suppose 4th graders may be as old as 10 or 11.

 

[damo]

The children are 9. A PD day is a professional development day for teachers. The children stay home and the teachers are at school. Elementary schools in Brampton do not have school resource officers who are not actual police officers. If the parents met with police, they met with detectives who would not wait until Monday to continue working on the situation. The teacher has not yet seen the notes so cannot identify the handwriting.

 

[MrsPete]

If nothing else, is it allowed to search pockets and backpacks before the start of class each day to see who if someone is bringing the notes with them?

As a teacher, I can answer this question:

A classroom teacher does not have the authority to search a student's person or his backpack. However, the teacher may call for an administrator (or resource officer) who does have the authority to do so. A classroom teacher may force a student to stay in the classroom until the administrator can get to the classroom (i.e., so the student can't throw the evidence away in a bathroom trashcan).

The administrator cannot search the student unless there is just cause, though I have a hard time believing other parents would object to a whole-class search in this particular case -- the administration has just cause to think that someone in that class is writing the notes. The administrator can have the student turn his pockets inside out, but cannot touch in "private" places.

If a more stringent search is deemed necessary (i.e., if they believe the student has drugs in his underwear), then the resource officer has the option of arresting the student on probable suspision and taking him "downtown" for a more thorough search.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

The children are 9. A PD day is a professional development day for teachers. The children stay home and the teachers are at school. Elementary schools in Canada do not have school resourse officers. If the parents met with police, they met with detectives who would not wait until Monday to continue working on the situation. The teacher has not yet seen the notes so cannot identify the handwriting.

Thanks for the info on what PD is!!

The OP said her school is from K-5th grade -- isn't that right? So, those kids could be maybe 12 years old at the oldest????

in post #33, the OP said " the police representative for the school." So, I'm thinking, that person is not a detective.

 

[WIcruizer]

Haven't read this in awhile, so I came back. This is making less since. The OP suggests there are distinct writing patterns, like commas that look like Cs. How long does it take to look over all the students handwriting and find a match (or a few possible matches)? Why can't they figure out a trap? I can think of several ways to do that. (Some of them have already been mentioned.) Hidden cameras are so small these days, it would be easy to catch this person in the act.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

A classroom teacher does not have the authority to search a student's person or his backpack.

.

This must vary state to state or maybe it varies between school districts or something.

I know at my dd's school, just a few weeks ago the teacher was searching backpacks for a potentially stolen book off her desk.

 

[damo]

Thanks for the info on what PD is!!

The OP said her school is from K-5th grade -- isn't that right? So, those kids could be maybe 12 years old at the oldest????

in post #33, the OP said " the police representative for the school." So, I'm thinking, that person is not a detective.

Grade 5 would be 10 years old. A police representative would be a police officer whose duties involve dealing with incidences exactly like these at the school level. That is exactly who they should be dealing with.

 

[MrsPete]

Simply discussing this with the school resource officer may not be the same thing as filing an official complaint and involving a police detective.

You guys are insinuating that the school resource officer is a rent-a-cop.

The resource officer IS a police officer. He went through the exact same training as the guy who's called out to your house after a burglery; he has done that job in the past and is qualified to do it now. He is paid by the county, not the school system. He carries a gun and has the authority to arrest people. Having him file a report is exactly the same thing as "going downtown" and filing a report with the people in the police office. Of course, he's going to involve more people from the police office, but he is the first link in the chain of denfense.

Telling the OP that she needs to go to the police, therefore, is repetative.

 

[Tantor]

Wishing on a Star, the incident is happening in Ontario. The procedures are different in Canada than what you may be used to in the US. I think the OP is handling the situation exactly the way it should be handled and normally is handled up here.

THANKYOU.

 

[MrsPete]

How long does it take to look over all the students handwriting and find a match (or a few possible matches)?

A student smart enough to compose these notes is also smart enough to disguise his handwriting.

 

[WIcruizer]

A student smart enough to compose these notes is also smart enough to disguise his handwriting.

First, I don't think they even tried to find a match, unless I missed that. Secondly, it doesn't sound like the writer tried to disguise the handwriting. Otherwise it would be all block type letters, probably not something so unique as commas that look like Cs.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

You guys are insinuating that the school resource officer is a rent-a-cop.

The resource officer IS a police officer.

I know the resource officer is a police officer! A police OFFICER and a police DETECTIVE are two separate ranks. (and two different pay scales as well!) There are many more OFFICERS than DETECTIVES. That is just a fact.

So, like I said in my post, I'm thinking the resource officer is not a DETECTIVE.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

A student smart enough to compose these notes is also smart enough to disguise his handwriting.

YES! Also, an adult is smart enough to disguise their writing as a child's writing.......