Increase in school threats prompts Kent County to create central information system

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The Kent County Sheriff’s Department is responding to a growing number of school safety threats by creating a centralized information sharing system for tips.

Kent County Sheriff’s Deputy Bryan Muir said the department has received the green light from area law enforcement agencies to begin the process of centralizing and sharing information through a “real-time crime hub.”

It will soon be located inside the Kent County Sheriff’s office.

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Less than three months into the 2024-25 school year, more than two dozen threats of violence have been reported at schools across the state. Most of these were unconvincing, and more than half resulted in schools being closed or quarantined for one or more days.

The Kent County Sheriff’s Department has investigated just over 70 incidents since Jan. 1, 2024, including a bomb threat reported through the Michigan State Police student tip line OK2Say, which resulted in the closure of Forest Hills North High School in October. He stated that the threat was being investigated. A 2-year-old and a 14-year-old student were arrested.

Many other traditional school districts and charter schools in the area have had to deal with threats this school year, including Grandville, Kentwood, Byron Center, West Michigan Environmental Science Academy and Vista Charter Academy.

Muir said most of the threats the department has seen so far this year have been cyclical, with information previously shared with law enforcement resurfacing via social media.

“It usually starts to show up again when we get a credible tip,” he said, resulting in repeated, hours-long investigations from agencies by police departments across the county.

“I don’t know if we have a perfect system to prevent that from happening, and that’s what we’re trying to work on… centralizing some information sharing with law enforcement in West Michigan,” Muir said.

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He said that with a centralized system, detectives from areas such as Grand Rapids, Kentwood and Wyoming will receive the same information at the same time when a tip comes into the information system.

Muir said he hopes this will increase the speed of solving crimes and reduce wasted time.

Although area law enforcement agencies try to partner and work together, independent jurisdictions can complicate and slow down investigations, he said.

“We’re taking this to the next level because we’re starting to see these school threats and other threats in West Michigan… these crime patterns don’t follow jurisdictional lines,” he said, “we need to work better together.”

Muir explained that the proposed information sharing initiative is similar to the county’s school radio project, a radio channel launched this year that directly connects Kent County schools with police and first responders.

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Muir said sharing tips and information across jurisdictions isn’t a new idea, but it’s being done in a new way with a centralized system that’s in its early stages.

He said contractual agreements have been signed with area police chiefs and the Sheriff’s Department is currently working on the process of purchasing software, additional hardware and training personnel, and partner organizations.

“It’s going to take some time to make sure this is done right,” he said, “but that’s our 12-month timeline to get it up and running here in West Michigan.”