Collier County Sheriff’s Office prepares to keep school safe

Collier County is being recognized as one of the nation’s safest places to live and the sheriff said his office is doing everything it can to keep violence out of schools.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office is preparing for the school year by practicing and training as the nation continues to see mass shootings.

“When schools go into lockdown and or there’s a 911 call into the communications center, our analysts will pick that up immediately and they’ll be able to open up cameras on campuses and start to get information prior to the arrival,” said Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk.

Rambosk and his team earned a National Award of Excellence from the School Safety Advocacy Council for its threat management program.

It helps identify, prevent, intervene and investigate potential threats with the help of traffic intersection cameras, advanced technology and deputies in the field.

“We knew that would make the difference,” he said.

The threat management program includes representatives from the Mental Health Bureau, Special Investigations section, youth relations, delinquency prevention services and counter-terrorism and Intelligence Bureau.

Rambosk said what can make a difference is identifying, preventing, intervening and investigating behavior, conduct, comments and threats before they are able to be carried out.

“We have dozens of incidents where we have followed up and interviewed with the help of parents and we know we have avoided situations,” he said.

“We’ve made a commitment year after year that we are going to do our very best to ensure that our schools are the safest they can be,” Rambosk said.

Collier County Sheriff’s Office hopes to never have to respond to a mass shooting like Parkland or Uvalde.

With their threat management program, they have eyes in the sky, to help to prevent crime before it happens.