HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office announced Friday that a newly formed squad was created to help investigate school-based threats.
The agency said in a news release that "the School Threat Assessment and Response (STAR) squad was formed to address the need for a comprehensive response to school-based threats."
"The STAR squad consists of four deputies dedicated to keeping our students and faculty safe at each of our public, charter, and private school campuses within unincorporated Hillsborough County," the release reads.
The sheriff's office says the squad will be able to identify common trends and will be able to directly monitor students who've made threats of violence if they transfer to a different school.
"The members of the STAR squad are deputies that have an intimate knowledge of the procedures, policies, and workings of the Hillsborough County School District and will be able to investigate school-based threats much more quickly and efficiently," said Sheriff Chad Chronister.
"It is critical to investigate every school-based threat to the fullest extent possible to keep our learning environments safe. The STAR squad’s sole mission is to protect our students and faculty and to keep violence from ever materializing on our campuses."
The STAR squad officially launched on Nov. 14.
