GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A new initiative looks to pay students in Kent and Ionia counties who report serious crimes and other concerning behaviors in their schools.
“We have to take steps back to think about what's going on in their minds, and how can we meet them where they are with the understanding that they have of danger and safety and themselves in the world,” said Jennifer Reynolds, the executive director of Silent Observer of West Michigan.
Reynolds describes "Speak Up, Cash Out," the program, as a chance to make a difference.
Students can earn between $100 to $1,000 for credible tips on threats their schools face, like incidents that involve bullying, guns, drugs and more. Information may be submitted anonymously.
“Creating a line or any sort of communication or safety net for students is really important,” said Reynolds. “It gives them that instantaneous way to say, ‘Oh, I need to tell somebody about this.’ Obviously too it's protecting the school community.”
According to Reynolds, Crime Stoppers USA, which oversees Silent Observer, launched a similar program in the late 1990s, but over the past two years, she says focus groups told her team its $50 reward did not incentivize them enough to come forward. They also worried about what their peers would think or do if they found out who gave the tip.
“Their biggest fear is somehow it's going to blow up and make them look dumb,” said Reynolds. “As silly as it sounds, that is how they see it, so as parents, as educators, as a community, we need to remind them that it's okay and that this is the right thing to do and you can do it to help yourself and to save others.”
Students can provide information through Silent Observer’s app or website or call (616) 774-2345.
According to Reynolds, 63 schools participate in Speak Up, Cash Out and it has seen some success this school year. For example, she says it encouraged a student to report a knife they saw in a classmate’s backpack.
“That student left the classroom, went onto their mobile phone and sent in a tip about the knife,” said Reynolds. “Silent Observer, Speak Up, Cash Out, then notifie[d] the school resource officer and the administrator at that school. In the next hour, they discovered that knife in the locker of the second student with the backpack, and it wasn't a kitchen knife; it was a six-inch fixed-blade tactical knife.”
She added, “Another student can see something beyond what the adults are seeing every day.”
Reynolds notes the tips Speak Up, Cash Out collects may help Silent Observer solve other area crimes.
“Speak Up, Cash Out does primarily focus on school; however, it allows us, because we run the regular neighborhood program, when there's crossover or when there are things that maybe co-currently happening between school in the neighborhood, for example, a stolen vehicle, then it allows us to be able to see both sides of that story that are going on,” said Reynolds.
Reynolds encourages families to protect their community.
“The revamp is really about catching their attention in another way and trying to stay up-to-date with the way society and culture is changing with what the kids are facing in school.”
