Safe Schools Partnership

"One of the primary concerns of the St. Louis County Police Department is the continued safety of our children. It is important to have a safety plan in place before an incident may occur. ... Working together, we can significantly enhance our children's safety while greatly adding to their physical and mental well-being."  - Colonel Jon Belmar, Chief of Police


The infamous Columbine school shooting in April of 1999 changed forever the manner law enforcement and schools interact within the school setting.

Since its inception, the St. Louis County Police Department has been a leader in the establishment of the Safe Schools Partnership. That partnership was formed out of that tragic event in order to create an effective working relationship between our schools and police. The primary goal of this collaboration was to provide as safe an environment as possible for our children.

The Partnership is described in the pages accessed from the menu to the left. There is general information about the initiative and information on the Safe Schools Hotline. To the right are links to the downloadable manual describing the operations of the Partnership, as well as links to other school safety resources available on the Internet.
Back to School Safety Tips - A Parents' Guide, which can be accessed by clicking the title. This brochure provides a variety of tips to assist you in maintaining a safe environment for your children during the school year.

Other Safety and Informational Brochures produced by the St. Louis County Police Department, including a number addressing the safety of children, can be found at:

Safe Schools Hotline

The St. Louis County Police Department, in partnership with your school district and neighboring police agencies, has created an area-wide telephone hotline to address a growing concern about violence, drugs and gangs in our communities and schools.

Using this confidential hotline, you can bring information and concerns to the attention of school and law enforcement officials. By working together, we can keep our schools a safe place to study, learn and grow.

Safe Schools Hotline: (314) 889-SAFE (7233)

The Safe Schools Hotline provides an opportunity for any child, parent or concerned neighbor to leave a private and confidential message about possible criminal activity or any other concerns that may affect the quality of education our children receive.

Hotline Available 24/7/365

The hotline is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to anyone wishing to report any gang or drug activity, weapons, physical abuse, violence or any other type of potential problem that may affect our children while at school, home or play.

Anonymous and Confidential

The hotline provides an avenue for anyone with information about these types of activities to report them. This method is especially useful when the caller wishes to stay anonymous. The information received from the hotline will be held strictly confidential and will only be shared with the appropriate school or police personnel. A recorded message invites the caller to leave information on a secure St. Louis County Police voice mail system.

Simple Questions to Answer

The caller need only dial (314) 889-SAFE -- (314) 889-7233 from a touch tone telephone. A recorded message will prompt the caller to answer several questions, such as:

  • What is the problem or crime being committed?
  • Where is it taking place?
  • Who is involved?
  • When does it happen?
  • Is there a car description?

These questions are all very important. However, if they all cannot be answered, any pertinent information will assist us in keeping our schools safe.

Operator Always Available to Assist

At anytime the caller can press "0" and talk to a St. Louis County Police Dispatcher who will take the information.

Call 911 if this is an Emergency

If an emergency situation exists, the caller will be directed to hang-up and dial 911.

About the Partnership

The Vision

We have a vision of a world where children and adolescents can attend school free of any fear about their safety and well-being.

We see a world where students attend school to experience an academic and social interaction that will enrich and enhance their lives and guide them towards becoming honorable and productive citizens in our society.

The Mission

It is the mission of the Safe Schools Partnership to promote a safe school environment for all students, faculty, administration and parents. This mission grows as a proactive response to the threat of violent tragedies witnessed across America over the past few years where students, most often children and some adolescents, committed horrific crimes in the school against classmates and faculty.

It is the belief of this Partnership that there is no justification for tolerance of violent acts or the threat of violence. Creating a peaceful and productive school environment can be accomplished by facilitating a collaborative effort between the school districts, police departments, members of the family court system, legislators, students, family members, friends, mental health professionals and other appropriate community resources.

The Safe Schools Partnership fulfills its mission by providing a primary partnership between schools and the police departments to:

  1. Create a proactive, community-wide initiative to provide a safe environment in which our children can maximize their potential;
  2. Provide a collective voice to assure every student and parent that violence in our schools is unacceptable;
  3. Develop practical methods which can assist in the early identification of potential problems and work to resolve the underlying issues which contribute to school violence;
  4. Support a “zero tolerance” approach to those individuals who commit violent acts in our schools.

Further Information

The following resources may be accessed by the links below, or from the menu to the right. All marked (PDF) are in Adobe Acrobat format.

Current Partners List (PDF)
A list of the current agencies making up the Safe Schools Partnership of St. Louis County, Missouri - effective 3/12.
  • Safe Schools Manual (PDF - 603k)
    An outline of the history, organizational structure, and membership of the Safe Schools Partnership, along with a list of specific tasks to be handled and resource information - effective 3/12.
  • Safe Schools Act Overview (PDF)
    A synopsis of the legislation that established the Safe Schools Initiative.
  • Links to St. Louis County Schools
    A collection of hyperlinks to St. Louis County school districts, maintained by St. Louis County Government.
  • National School Safety Center
    The National School Safety Center serves as an advocate for safe, secure and peaceful schools worldwide and as a catalyst for the prevention of school crime and violence. The site includes a wide variety of resources for both parents and educators.

    • Citizen Resources