Glendale Police Department inspires Portantino’s school safety bill
State Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) is hoping to make schools a little bit safer through a bill he introduced on Wednesday to the California’s Legislature.
Senate Bill 1091 would amend the state’s Education Code to make it mandatory for school districts, law enforcement agencies and county offices of education to cross-report threats of campus crime that would “trigger immediate intervention” from the authorities, according to the proposed legislation. The threats include shootings, vandalism, hate crimes, drug use and gang-related activities.
Portantino said in a statement he was inspired by discussions with the Glendale Police Department to introduce the bill and was troubled that reporting on-campus threats between law enforcement and schools agencies wasn’t already mandatory.
“As Californians, we should want our governmental agencies to collaborate to prevent traffic acts of violence that have become all too common on our campuses,” he said.
The bill calls for the state to reimburse agencies for costs that are incurred as a result of the mandate.
While some cities may already have their law enforcement and educational agencies in regular contact with one another, the bill would help strengthen those lines of communication and establish new ones in cities where cross-reporting may not be as prevalent.
Sgt. Dan Suttles, a spokesman for Glendale police, said the department does have regular contact with the Glendale Unified School District but the meetings aren’t as formal as they would be if the bill becomes law.
Glendale Unified did not return a request for comment as of press deadline.
Although the bill is still in its early stages it could, in theory, “take away the guess work when it comes to clear communication between agencies,” Suttles said.
It may also lead to the establishment of specific points of contacts for each agency to have when it comes to cross-reporting threats, he noted.
“Whereas right now the communication usually comes about when events happen versus an established line of communication,” Suttles said.
Glendale Police Chief Carl Povilaitis lauded Portantino’s bill in a statement, saying it will help schools and law enforcement agencies work together to ensure student safety.
“No one wants to have an ‘unthinkable’ incident happen at their school, and a framework to cross report information in a timely manner is an important tool in avoiding violence on school campuses,” Povilaitis said.
