New Bedford Police launch Bullying Tip line

By Ana Bottary

abottary@abc6.com

@anabottary

A new tip line in New Bedford launched this week lets people report cases of bullying in local schools.

"It’s a national issue. We hear it, we see it a lot, talk about it in our trainings. We wanted to bring something to this area that people can utilize to reach out to us,"says Sargent Samuel Ortega of the New Bedford Police Department.

Sargent Ortega is in charge of the school resource officers in New Bedford. He came up with the idea after realizing the need. The tip line is set up at the local police department so anyone can call and leave an anonymous message to report a bullying issue.

"Basically we are an intermediary so I make sure that the head of the facility or someone from the administration is aware that we’ve received a tip and want to make sure it is getting further looked into," says Sgt. Ortega.

It’s something Headmaster of New Bedford high school Bernadette Coelho is behind. She says they take bullying and safety very seriously.

"If there is a way that a parent can engage in a stream lined process even anonymously to have to give information that they feel needs to be shared out, then I think it is a terrific initiative," says Coelho.

Coelho says they investigate all bullying events in and out of school that are brought to their attention.

"Any outside activity impacts the child’s performance in school. Our concern always is to make sure our abilities are safe so students can learn," she adds.

To report an incident, the Bullying Tip line is (508) 991-6300 ext. 79475.

© WLNE-TV 2016