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Cochise County launches Safe Voice Cochise anonymous tip tool for schools
Summary
Cochise County officials announced Safe Voice Cochise, a countywide anonymous tip app, hotline and web form funded by a Bureau of Justice Assistance STOP grant; tips will be triaged by Sandy Hook Promise crisis counselors before routing to local schools. The tool goes live Monday.
Cochise County school leaders on a local radio program announced Safe Voice Cochise, a new anonymous tip-reporting system for students, staff and community members aimed at improving school safety and mental‑health referrals.
County Superintendent Jackie Clay said the program builds on a decade of safety work — radios, panic buttons and prior ALICE trainings — and will expand how students can report bullying, threats or self‑harm concerns. "Every year we do something better and better and better," Clay said, introducing the outreach team that developed the tool.
Outreach manager Cynthia Myers described the tool's features: an app, a web tip form and a hotline, with drop‑down menus that let users select the specific school or district. "Safe Voice Cochise is basically, the idea is to fill a gap where students, staff members, community members have somewhere to voice concerns when otherwise they may not want to or feel comfortable doing so," Myers said. She said tips will first go to trained crisis counselors at the Sandy Hook Promise Crisis Center so that anonymity is preserved while professionals triage the report and route it to appropriate local services.
Stacy Schnitzler, the program coordinator for the STOP grant that funded the effort, said the funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance made the countywide rollout possible. "One of the main reasons why we got the funding for this tool is that all the research shows that a lot of the issues we're having with violence and self harm in schools is really related to not feeling like they have a trusted adult to report to," Schnitzler said.
Officials said the system goes live Monday and will be promoted with QR codes, school webpages and posters across the county. Schools and the county superintendent's office will receive routed reports for local follow-up after crisis counselors complete triage. Clay noted the program is intended to reach students who feel isolated or reluctant to speak up in person.
Officials said the effort complements existing training and technological tools used by schools; specific long‑term funding plans mentioned during the broadcast (a request referred to verbally as "half $1,000,000") were not fully clarified on air. The county asked partners and school districts to publicize QR codes and web links when the tool launches.
What's next: Officials invited the program's managers back to report early results after the system has been live for a period.
