ARLINGTON (WBAP/KLIF)- The Arlington Police Department partners with Arlington ISD and Tarrant County’s ‘My Health My Resources’ (MHMR) organization to launch a Multidisciplinary Threat Assessment Team (MTAT) in Arlington schools.
Anita Foster with Arlington ISD said the team will help identify at-risk children who may pose a threat and offer them the resources they need before a situation escalates to violence.
“The overall goal is a really strong community partnership that can help assess threats in advance and when necessary, be able to intervene and help a kid overcome challenges they may be having with their behavior,” she said.
Foster says she hopes this will make schools safer and address public safety concerns. “It brings outside representatives that identify threats at any level whether it’s on social media, word of mouth and threats that are very credible,” Foster said.
The MTAT is funded by a grant received in October 2018 by the Office of Community Policing Services. A spokesperson with Arlington Police said they had at least 10 interventions with children within the first week of the program alone.
“The MTAT will review incidents of threatening behavior by students, both current and former. This team will also review information regarding at-risk students or individuals and determine when a student requires help before it escalates to potential violence,” said Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson in a statement.
This team serves students in public, private and charter schools within city limits.
