HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Every time a school threat is made in Hillsborough County, a small team investigates that threat. That team is called the STAR Squad.
It's made up of four Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies and one supervisor.
"It's the school threat assessment and response unit for Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office," Master Deputy Elizabeth Baker said.
These deputies oversee about 40-50 schools each.
"We'll get, you know, a handful of phone calls from schools every day, to assist them with threat assessments," Deputy Thomas Jenkins said. "And to be perfectly fair, most of them are very minor, off the cuff or, or not very well thought out statements that children make out of moments of frustration or anger, that are resolved fairly quickly."
Every threat is investigated thoroughly. It can vary from reports by school staff, Fortify Florida, or called into 911 and the non-emergent line.
"Being able to have a close team and partnerships, like we have in this room, allows us to coordinate on cases and bounce ideas off on specific investigations because we all bring different experiences to the table,"
Deputy Griffin Norris said.
The STAR Squad has an office located in a sheriff's office building off Falkenburg Road. The four deputies on the team share a small room – where calls are taken and paperwork is completed.
But only a portion of their day is spent at their desks.
If you're wondering why a school threats unit is needed, it's because just this year nearly 800 school threats were made that warranted an investigation.
"Approximately 10 arrests [have been made] so far," Major Darrin Barlow said. He is the head of the Community Outreach Division, which oversees the STAR Squad.
"Fortunately, the vast majority of the threats that they have looked into were not credible," he said. "Our biggest driving force, though, is never to let complacency come into the unit."
Depending on the threat made, students can face a range of charges, including felonies.
"The goal is to make sure it's preventative," Baker explained. "And, you know, the goal is to make sure that if there's any mental health crisis that we see that the school sees that we're trying to get that implemented to the kid, first and foremost, it's really not about finding a kid and putting them in jail."
Each of the deputies on the STAR Squad has a background that makes them all the more suited for their current role, like working as a school resource officer or with child protective services.
As this school year comes to a close, this unit will stay busy spending the summer completing training and assisting other units.
Malique Rankin is a general assignment reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. You can email her story ideas at mrankin@10tampabay.com and follow her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.