Van Beek: Happy Valley not so happy this week
The thing about life going well is that change is inevitable, which often presents life experiences that we wish we didn’t have. This is one of those moments in time.
Often, when living in such a beautiful and friendly community, we begin to feel immune to the challenges that occur in other parts of the state and nation. Our closeness is one of the things that helps to keep us safe because we tend to look out for one another.
The challenge comes when outside forces attempt to infiltrate our “Happy Valley” and create havoc across the community with implied threats, especially when aimed at our children.
In the past two weeks, we have been exposed to what appears to be foreign threats that have come from social media and other online contact sources through out-of-country virtual private networks. The target has been our schools, which creates tremendous stress and anxiety among our parents and makes our children feel scared and vulnerable.
While threats of this nature are designed to terrorize communities, most are thankfully more talk than action. It generates fear and uncertainty, which is the objective of these nefarious actors. Oftentimes, they come in waves, especially if they receive the response they seek. So, while we hope that we don’t see any more threats, we also recognize that there is a possibility of more to come.
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With that in mind, we want to assure our community that we take every threat seriously, and will pursue all leads in conjunction with multiple law enforcement agencies.
Direct threats are more easily traced, and the FBI has sources that extend well beyond our local reach. They are actively involved in the continual investigations.
Social media threats are more difficult to trace, as they tend to have multiple layers and privacy protections. However, our state and federal agencies have options for securing information that can often penetrate those barriers. That said, we’d like parents to be aware of how quickly these things can spread.
Once a threat is made on social media, it grows exponentially. Even if the threat isn’t greater, the reach expands quickly and ferociously, increasing its intensity. In reality, it’s the same message, just shared among more people. In addition, when the image associated with the post is threatening, such as a photo of a rifle, and is accompanied by a message of shooting children, that will get shared across multiple social media networks even faster because the threat appears imminent. These messages will “go viral” in communities like ours because we are focused on keeping one another safe and will alert everyone we know to prevent potential harm.
We must also attempt to put online threats into perspective, however, because more often than not, someone is either seeking attention or enjoying the power of creating widespread fear.
Regardless of origin, the thought of our children being in harm’s way is a parent’s worst nightmare, and the associated anxiety can carry over to the kids. Credibility and authenticity give way to emotionally driven hysteria, as the images of school violence over the years surface.
Although we continue to relentlessly investigate, along with other local and federal agencies, to determine if these threats are local and genuine, or social media pranks, we must continue to live our lives with this as one of the many calculated risks we take every day 鈥� like assuming that oncoming traffic will stay on the other side of a painted yellow stripe, or that the cars will stop at a red light, or that the produce at the grocery store is not contaminated, etc.聽 It can be difficult, but we mustn’t let others interfere with our sense of well-being.
As law enforcement, we expect the best but always prepare for the worst 鈥� which includes training for the unlikely event of an active shooter on a school campus. We conduct extensive and complex simulations, covering multiple scenarios, both independently, and with other law enforcement agencies, striving to get better each time.
While I would love to assure everyone that all is well, regarding recent events, we must always be cautious of the unpredictable nature of people who instigate these types of threats.聽The best minds and scientific methods are being utilized in identifying the source of these threats.
The phrase, “If you see something, say something” still holds. As parents, we don’t want to overreact and cause undue stress on our children, yet we know when something doesn’t seem quite right. Go with your gut. Better to mention it and discover it was nothing.
If your child is suffering from anxiety, your school can connect you to mental health resources. If you have any information regarding continued threats, please contact us immediately.
This is not the way we want to begin the new school year, yet it’s also a good time to realize that the schools, along with the community and law enforcement agencies, are there with you 鈥� you are not alone.
James van Beek is the Eagle County sheriff. You can reach him at james.vanbeek@eaglecounty.us.
