General Anonymous Report Response Tips
STOPit Admin is STOPit’s Incident Management platform. STOPit Admin users will receive anonymous reports from STOPit mobile app and STOPit web users. When you as an Administrator receive a new incident report from a STOPit user, the first thing to do is take a deep breath and treat these interactions similar to a face-to-face reporting situation. The key is to put on your counselor/administrator hat and rely on your training and experience. A person who submits a report is usually doing so to help themselves, someone else, or the overall community, so it is important to engage (i.e. using Messenger) and validate their effort in an initial response. Use open-ended questions to solicit more information and respond with a sense of compassion and urgency, if applicable.
Always follow your internal policies and procedures regarding mandated reporting and leverage any past experience in handling anonymous reports. Throughout the communication, try and provide validation, support, and express your willingness to help.
Always consider state and local laws that may apply to reports involving sexting, cyberbullying, and suicide ideation/threats. Any mandated reporting should be done according to state and local laws and involve law enforcement, Safety officials, or other Resource Officers.
The following document outlines general guidelines on how to engage and respond to anonymous reports.
Acknowledge the Reporter
Acknowledgement is key. Reach out to the source and let them know you have received their information. Let them know you are here to help. Try and respond to them in a timely fashion and with urgency, if applicable, to the reported information.
Note: If there are extended periods of time when you or other administrators cannot respond, we recommend using STOPit Admin’s automated After Hours response advising the reporter when they can expect their information to be reviewed
Initial Response: Try “thanks for letting me know” and praise the reporting for taking the first step in reporting. The more trust you build, the more information that may be provided and shared as the conversation continues. Additional examples:
“Thanks for letting me know this information.”
“I am here to help and will take this seriously.”
“I really want to help you or that person.”
“What else can you tell me?”
“Is there anything else you can tell me that may help this person or the situation?”
Who is this Concerning: Try and determine if this may be a self-report by questioning and confirming if this is a true third-party report. Sometimes, the reporter may appear to be reporting for another but in reality, are referring to them self. Don’t be afraid to ask questions of the reporter should you get the sense they are talking about themselves. Examples:
“I am here to help you.” (Establish Trust)
“It’s ok to tell me and I am here to help you however I can.”
“What you are feeling or may feel is okay and normal.”
“It sounds like maybe you are talking about yourself?”
“Can you tell me more about the incident?”
If it’s a third party report, ask for a name. Let them know that you want to help this person and need to reach out to them to support them. Examples:
“Can you tell me who this person is?” (Once a dialogue is established, this information is usually provided quickly)
“You are being a great friend/bystander.” (Reinforce the reason they are reporting)
“I am sure they will be happy you had the courage to report this.” or “Is there anything else I should know before I reach out to this person?”
If the reporter is hesitant, let them know what a great friend they will be in getting this person help. Examples:
“Thanks for letting us know what’s going on, we take this very seriously and want to help.” (Even if this feels like repeating yourself)
“Sometimes people have a hard time standing up and reporting - they may be a victim or in trouble, thanks for being a valuable friend/upstander.”
You can also guide them to the resources available listed within the app. Examples
“Please feel free to look over some of the resources we have and pass that information. Use the Get Help section of the App.”
“If you have any other questions or concerns, please let us help you and reach back out.”
“We are here to help and guide you or your friends”
Responding to the Information
Should the report be something based an internal policy violation or a less threatening piece of information, acknowledge the reporter and seek to gather more information. Always thank the reporter and encourage them to continue to report anything else. Engagement lets the reporter know that someone is there to listen and respond no matter what, and this can encourage dialogue. Thanking the reporter validates the process and the use of STOPit.
Use open-ended questions to solicit more information from the reporter. The goal is to try and gather as much information from the reporter and build trust while doing so. The responses via Messenger should be short and concise and may consist of a few messages as the conversation continues. It is generally not advised to use acronyms or slang. Be brief and conversational, but not unprofessional. Examples:
“Can you describe what you are reporting? What can you tell me?”
“Can you tell me more information?”
“Is there possibility we could meet to discuss further?”
“I really want to help but need more information to do so.”
Sometimes, the reporter may be “testing the waters” and sending an initial one-word comment to see if someone really is there and cares. Something like a one word “hello” may be all that is sent. Don’t ignore these. Take these one-word reports seriously and address each one.
You can reply with a simple “Hi” and “Can I help you with anything today?”
Use clear, concise wording in the responses back, don’t use text lingo, and remember not to lose the message in translation. Use age appropriate and concise language to try and validate and gather more information if possible.
If interacting with youth, the text and chat in language may be confusing or unclear. Check and validate what their acronyms really mean. You may receive messages that are filled with text slang or short hand. Here is a great free resource if you are struggling with deciphering a text message: http://www.netlingo.com/acronyms.php
Determine the Nature/Severity of the Information
The detail and severity of the information will lead you to the appropriate next step. Always refer back to your internal polices and training on handling such issues.
Should the report include information of a more serious nature, i.e. cyberbullying, suicide ideation/threat, self-harm, or weapons possession, time may be critical. Please see other documents for additional suggested guidance in these areas
Determine the severity of the threat based on the initial information received and the feedback from the reporter once you reach out. Are they responding and providing further information to help guide your next steps?
Take each report seriously until proven otherwise.
Consider calling the police or reaching out to your local safety resource officer (if you have one) for guidance.
First interaction with the reporter should be direct and specific. Examples:
“What is the location of the weapon?"
“Who is the person making the threat/suicide threat?”
“Are there pictures/videos you can share?”
Each type of report can and will at times have its own sense of issues and guidelines to follow.
Guidance/Education in Reporting
All organizations, colleges, and schools should encourage the use of the anonymous reporting tool throughout the year. A yearly review of what may or may not be working is essential for the administration and/or counselors using the tool. The community of end users should be encouraged and praised throughout the reporting processes and promised a sense of anonymity. The more validated and praised they are, the more apt they will be to use the reporting feature. Friendship and being an upstander should be taught throughout the year to increase overall success and wellbeing of the community and increase the quality of reports.
Legal Disclaimer
This material is made available for education purposes only as well as to give general information and general understanding of current issues, and not to provide specific legal or process advice. This material should not be used as a substitute for your specific safety or legal advice from a licensed professional safety officer or attorney in your state. This is not meant to be used, nor should it be used, as your safety procedure. For documentation of your safety procedure consult your safety resources at state, district, or school level as appropriate. STOPit is not responsible for any safety issue reported.