The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has assembled a team of deputies which will focus on investigating school-based threats.
The School Threat Assessment and Response squad, or STAR, was formed on Nov. 14, according to a news release.
It consists of four deputies who will monitor threats at public, charter, and private schools in unincorporated Hillsborough County.
Sheriff Chad Chronister said the deputies have what he calls the "intimate knowledge" of school procedures that will allow them to more quickly address any threats.
"The deputies that make up the STAR squad will not just focus on investigating violent threats in our schools, but working in the best way possible with campus security, teachers, staff, and parents," Chronister said in the release.
"It is critical to investigate every school-based threat to the fullest extent possible to keep our learning environments safe. The STAR squad’s sole mission is to protect our students and faculty and to keep violence from ever materializing on our campuses."
The squad will also identify common trends and directly monitor students who've made threats of violence if they transfer to different schools.
