LAKELAND, Fla. — Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd is making a big push for safety this week as schools across the Bay area are set to welcome a new school year.

“You’ve got to be all up in your children’s business,” said Judd.

Judd talked with Spectrum News shortly following the training of principals in Polk County to spot online behavior that poses threats to students and schools.

Every principal in Polk County completed training over the summer, and will pass that knowledge on to staff at their own schools.

But Judd says the most important line of defense happens at home and with parents, who he says shouldn’t be complacent in monitoring their kids online and social media activity.

“If we hear see something, hear something, say something,” Judd said.  

Of particular importance are online threats to the safety of schools, which in Florida carry added criminal penalties for making written threats.

But stopping the threat before it even gets inside the school has been the focus of training in Polk County.

“We have a lot of interventions in place so we can try and find this active shooter before they ever show up at the school campus, or the theatre, or the workplace,” Judd said. “But it requires the community to help us.”

Judd reminds parents that any website or social media platform popular with kids can be a danger zone for online predators who can easily pose as children themselves.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office says setting up apps to monitor your children’s online activity, or physically checking social media pages can be a great help in reducing any kind of threats online.