Cyber-bullying discussed at school safety meeting

Organizers of a cyber-bullying conference in Gloucester County yesterday set the tone by showing the movie Sticks and Stones.

In it, the popular Lindsay and loner Brandon share a high school English class. Though they rarely speak to each other, they exchange text messages in class and instant messages late at night.

But when Lindsay's boyfriend gets into her computer, he sends a humiliating picture of Brandon to the entire school. One night he even messages Brandon from Lindsay's screen name, pretending to be her. When Brandon confesses his love, she tells him to "just disappear."

He does. The movie ends with Brandon hanging himself from a bridge.

After the viewing, the more than 300 law enforcement officials and educators on hand talked about ways to combat the misuse of technology among students.

"The crimes that are committed by technology are not going to go away," said Sgt. Steve LaPorta of the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office's cyber-crimes unit. He said Internet safety concerns have grown from child predators and cyber stalking to sexting and online harassment.

The setting for the film and discussion was the third annual School Safety and Security Conference, organized by the Prosecutor's Office and hosted by six other county prosecutors, including those from Camden and Burlington.

In the 10 years since the Columbine shootings, the development of new technologies - e-mail, texting, instant messaging - "has really presented a challenge to all of us," said Gloucester County School Superintendent Mark Stanwood.

"We're working toward how we can make it work, how we can make it more positive, how we can put limits on it, because we're not going to stop it," he said.

Lt. Robert Borkowski of Gloucester County's SWAT team emphasized that school officials should notify law enforcement as soon as possible when something seems suspicious.

Violent incidents at schools typically last just four to six minutes, he said, sometimes before police can get to the scene.

"Notification to the police department needs to be immediate," Borkowski said.

Camden County Prosecutor Warren Faulk said parents should stay knowledgeable about their children's online and cell phone activities.

"The first line of defense is the parents," he said, noting that in the film, Brandon had his own cell phone and a computer in his room; the film depicted little parental interaction.

But Stanwood said school workers could play a role if family members did not see signs of bullying.

"If it's not going to be parents or an uncle, hopefully it's going to be someone in the school," he said.

The attendees at the TD Bank Arts Centre at Washington Township High School were a mix of officers in uniform, school administrators, and teachers.

For Robert Mungo, who teaches kindergarten through eighth grade at DUE Season Charter School in Camden, teaching in an inner-city school makes it even more important to stay informed on security issues.

"We're trying to be one of the safest schools in Camden," he said.

Cyber bullying is a problem, he said, especially among the older students.

"They're bullying at home, and then it spills over into the schools," he said.

Mike D'Ostilio, a vice principal at Gateway Middle School in Woodbury Heights, said he was interested in what fell under the jurisdiction of the school and under that of the police. "Where does the school stop and where does the police start?" he asked.

He was especially interested in the message of Sticks and Stones, produced by the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office this year.

"You can't all the time prevent it, but you can be proactive and have plans in place," he said.