Mobile access added to report-a-bully tool

The provincial government has made its report-a-bully tool mobile friendly.

The new feature allows youngsters to use a mobile phone to call or text a report about bullying behaviour, anonymously.

The phone function is in addition to a web-based reporting tool, I Am Stronger, which was launched in June.

The mobile reports are made to the Crime Stoppers line, which relays the report. In a media release about the new feature, officials said reports will be "redirected to the appropriate group, school division, ministry or law enforcement, based on the nature, severity and location of the incident, as well as the needs of the caller."

Education Minister Don Morgan said mobile phones are almost always with young people, from home to school and everywhere they go.

"What this partnership with Crime Stoppers will do will have a phone number that's available 24/7 so a student can either text or phone for help anytime they need it," Morgan said.

Here are the numbers to report a bullying incident by text:

- Text TIP210 to CRIMES (274637) for Saskatoon.

- Text TIP158 to CRIMES (274637) for Regina.

- Text TIP248 to CRIMES (274637) for Prince Albert.

- Text TIP193 to CRIMES (274637) for Moose Jaw.

- Text TIP206 to CRIMES (274637) for Rural Saskatchewan.

Here's the phone number for a voice call:

- 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Morgan said the reporting tools are aimed at making students feel more comfortable about sharing what they see.

"Sometimes it was a victim that would be afraid to come forward," he said. "Sometimes it would be a witness that would be afraid to come forward. So providing the information will allow us to try and work and deal with it without having to go back to students."

John Barton, a Grade 7 student in Saskatoon, said the anonymity of the reporting system is important, especially if someone is a witness to bullying behaviour.

"It's a key part because then you don't feel like a snitch when you do it because you reported it," he said. "You know you did something good but the bully will never know that you actually did it."

Currently the report bullying website is being accessed about 1,100 times a month and receives two to three reports per month.