RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Collette McEachin held a panel Tuesday night to make parents aware of the consequences students could face when they make threats or cause violence in school and the court system.
The panel comes after an increase in violent threats made to schools not just in Richmond, but across Virginia and the country.
Five Virginia teens under the age of 15 are currently facing charges associated with making death threats to the public.
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A Richmond Public School leader, a police official, and members of the Commonwealth’s Attorney's Office all participated in the panel moderated by Richmond's top prosecutor
“This conversation will be how those four entities work with each other to address and divert bad behavior before it comes in contact with the criminal justice system,” McEachin said.
She expressed the importance of having these conversations with the community and community partners so they can work collectively to help keep students safe.
Officials stated that any students who bring guns to school will face consequences both in school and in the courts.
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“We have zero tolerance for bringing weapons into schools," Sergeant Stacy Rogers, who also serves as a school resource officer, said. "Our primary goal is to provide safety for students and staff."
According to the panel, a student could face charges for possessing a firearm on school property.
The Commonwealth’s Attorney will determine if the student's charges are moved up to Circuit Court where they could potentially be tried as an adult after evaluation.
They said they prefer to keep cases in juvenile court so the child would have access to rehabilitation.
The Commonwealth’s Attorney's Office said they will not prosecute children for truancy or curfew-related infractions unless it is accompanied by other more severe charges.
“It’s important to know what our office can do under the current law and what our office can not do,” said Allison Linscott, the Deputy Commonwealth Attorney for Juvenile and Domestic Relations.
Richmond Public Schools Chief Wellness Officer Renesha Parks said students will face the highest form of infraction if they bring a gun to school.
Parks said the discipline hearing team and school board will likely recommend expulsion in those cases.
However, she said RPS may support the student with virtual learning and other services.
For other disciplinary issues, she said the district focuses on connecting students with their wellness and behavioral staff members to work on providing resources to solve problems.
They only involve SROs when it involves issues with the law.
“We don’t have any bad children. We have children who made some bad choices and we are going to continue to love them until they do right,” she said.
Parks wants parents to know that RPS has a system in place to keep students safe.
According to Parks, that looks like active shooter drills, a 3-tier crisis response, and a crisis manual. She said the district also increased communication with parents whenever there is any level of potential threat.
“All of those things we put in place are things we heard from families and community stakeholders who said these things would help us feel much safer sending our kids to school," Parks said. "We are not 100% where we want to be but we have made some marked improvements and we are continuing to add some things."
The Commonwealth’s Attorney said parents can be charged for allowing their child to have access to a firearm, especially if they're making violent threats and have the capability of carrying them out.
McEachin encouraged parents to have conversations with their children about what consequences they could face by making threats or conducting violence.
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