Safety shouldn't be a secret.
You don't have to be sure. You don't have to put your name on it. The thing nagging at you, the comment that didn't sit right, the post that scared you, the friend who's been off lately, that's exactly what this is for. One quiet message from you could be the reason someone gets home safe tonight.
One quiet message can be the reason someone gets home safe.
Most of the time, someone saw something first. They just needed a door that felt safe to walk through.
It was never that they didn't care.It's that telling someone came with a price.
If you actually ask a student why they stayed quiet, they won't say they missed it. They saw it. They just didn't want to be the name attached to it. They didn't want the hallway whispers. They didn't want the group chat to turn on them. They didn't want to be wrong in front of everyone they know. Public Guards was built so they don't have to carry any of that.
The fear of being labeled
Students don't stay quiet because they don't care. They stay quiet because word gets around fast, and no one wants to be the reason someone's weekend gets ruined. Public Guards never asks for a name.
The fear of being seen
No teacher pulls you out of class. No counselor calls your name over the intercom. The tip goes straight to the people who need to act on it.
The fear of being wrong
You don't have to be sure. If something feels off about a friend or a classmate, that's enough of a reason to say it. Trained staff decide what to do next.
The fear of the group chat
There is no caller ID, no email on file, no school login attached. No one can screenshot a name back to you because there isn't one to screenshot.
The whole flow takes about a minute.
We made it so a student can do it from a bathroom stall on their phone between classes. No drama, no spectacle, and your name is not attached unless you choose to share it.
Your name is not attached
We only ask for a name if you want response alerts. Skip it and the school never sees one.
No download, no account
Open the link, type what you saw, hit submit. That is the whole flow.
You keep a private PIN
You get a Tip ID and a PIN. If staff have a follow-up question, you can answer when you're ready. You stay in control of the conversation.
No one in the hallway will know
There is no public list of who reported what. Tips are visible only to the staff your school designates.
What this is for, and what it isn't.
Being honest about scope matters. This is not a complaint box and it is not a substitute for calling 911.
Use it for
- Bullying that keeps happening to the same person
- A weapon you saw or heard about being on campus
- Threats made online or in person, even if you think it might be a joke
- A friend talking about hurting themselves
- An adult acting inappropriately with a student
- Drugs being sold or used at school
- A classmate posting something that scares you
Not the right place for
- Anything happening right now where someone is in danger, call 911 first
- Grades, schedules, or homework complaints
- Personal disagreements with a teacher about policy
- Venting about a bad day with no specific concern
If something is happening right now, call 911. This platform is for things you've seen or heard about, not for active emergencies.
The questions students actually ask.
We get these from students more than from adults. Here are the honest answers.
Will the school know it was me?
Not unless you choose to tell them. We do not collect your name, your school login, or your device ID. If you don't type your name into the form, no one sees one.
Can a teacher or the principal force the platform to give up my identity?
They cannot get something we never collected. The only thing tied to your tip is a random Tip ID and a PIN you keep. There is no account to subpoena.
What if I'm not sure? What if I'm wrong?
You do not have to be sure. Tips are not punishments. Trained staff decide what to do next. If you saw something that worried you, that is a good enough reason to say it.
What if I want to talk to someone more after I submit?
You can. Keep your Tip ID and PIN, come back later, and reply in the same private thread. You're still anonymous on your end. Staff can answer back.
Is this the same as snitching?
Snitching usually means turning someone in for a small thing to get them in trouble. This is different. This is for the moments when staying quiet could let someone get hurt. The point is to keep your classmates safe, including the one you're worried about.
What happens if someone submits a fake tip?
False reporting is a serious offense. Submitting fake tips, hoax threats, or using this system to SWAT a school is a crime that can be prosecuted at the state and federal level. Public Guards logs all submissions and will fully cooperate with law enforcement if the system is abused. If you're not sure whether something is real, it's okay to report it, staff will sort it out. Making something up to cause panic is not.
Can I submit a tip as a joke or to test if it works?
No. Even a joke about a weapon, a bomb, or hurting someone is treated as a real threat until proven otherwise. That means real consequences for you, real stress for your school, and real resources wasted. If you want to test the system, ask a teacher or counselor to show you how it works. Do not submit fake information.
Almost every time, somebody knew first.
Read enough reports and the same line shows up after the fact: "people had heard things." The students who could've said something usually weren't cold about it, they were scared. A safer door would have saved lives. That's the door we're trying to build.
"In nearly every targeted school attack studied, at least one other person, usually a peer, knew about the attacker's plan or concerning behavior before it happened."
"Most school shooters told someone what they were going to do. The problem is rarely that no one saw it coming. The problem is that the person who saw it didn't know it was safe to tell."
Sources cited above are public. We do not claim affiliation with the Secret Service or Sandy Hook Promise. Statistics are paraphrased from publicly available reports.
From the student's phone to the right person, on the record.
- 1
Student submits
From a phone, a Chromebook, or any browser. No login, no name.
- 2
Routed to your staff
Lands with the counselors, deans, or SROs your school designates.
- 3
Triaged with an audit trail
Status moves through new, under review, assigned, closed. Every action is logged.
- 4
Optional follow-up via PIN
Staff can ask a clarifying question. The student answers when they're ready, still anonymous.
Use this system responsibly
False reporting, hoax threats, SWATTING, and using this platform to threaten or harm others are serious criminal offenses. Public Guards maintains detailed logs of every submission and will fully cooperate with law enforcement if the system is abused. This tool exists to keep people safe. Using it to cause fear or waste emergency resources will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Important: Who we are
Public Guards is a service of Public Guards LLC, an independent, privately-operated technology platform. We are not a law enforcement agency, government entity, or part of Crime Stoppers, and we are not affiliated with any such organization. We may partner with law enforcement agencies and Crime Stoppers programs solely to route submitted tips to the appropriate recipient. Submitting a tip through Public Guards does not constitute contacting law enforcement.
Get Public Guards in front of your students.
Tell us about your school or district. Someone from our team will follow up to walk you through setup, posters and QR codes, and how tips will route to your designated staff.
- 1
Tell us about your school
Name, district, your role, how to reach you.
- 2
We confirm and set up routing
Tips route only to staff you designate.
- 3
Roll it out to students
Share the link, post the QR codes, brief your team.
Want to know exactly how we protect a tipster's identity?
Read our full privacy approach. What we collect, what we don't, and how a student stays anonymous from submission through follow-up.