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Anonymous tips stopped 12 potential school shootings in San Diego

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SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Authorities in San Diego have confiscated twelve guns from campuses across the county since the anonymous hotline “Students Speaking Out” was implemented in 1999.

That’s according to Dep. Adriana Uribe with the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, who helps manage the county’s anonymous tip hotlines.

“That’s twelve potential school shootings that didn’t happen because somebody said something,” said Uribe.

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Students Speaking Out has also been credited with solving over 400 crimes at schools.

Students can call their number anonymously at 888-580-8477. They can also make tips online or through an app that can be found on their website.

Cyber safety consultant, Jon Moffat, says parents must be a part of the process as well.

“They need to know every app that’s on a device their child is using and how they work,” he says.

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He urges parents to make social media ‘contracts’ examples of which can be found online.

They place boundaries on what apps can be used, list passwords and can lay ground rules for 

For parents with middle school students, he also recommends letting other users know that an account is being watched, suggesting that parents write “parentally monitored” in the About Me sections.