Houston Independent School District Police Department is introducing a new way for HISD students, families, and stakeholders to report threats or criminal activity on HISD school campuses in an effort to continue building trust and transparency with the community.

The Axon Citizen for Communities portal will be an online tool where citizens can upload videos, pictures, or documents for review. The portal will also be easily accessible through the department’s web page. The department hopes to bridge the gap between citizens and police by creating a new avenue for community members to assist the department directly.

“We have always said that safety is a collaborative effort, and we want to make the collaboration easier,” said HISD Police Chief Pedro Lopez. “This will be another tool to build trust and allow us to work with our community to ensure our students stay safe in a way that is transparent.”

To use the Axon Citizen for Communities portal, visitors would click Submit Evidence at the bottom of the page. After they enter their information, click Send Link. A private link will be sent to their email taking them to the website where evidence files may be uploaded. After uploading is complete, site visitors should click Submit to receive the email. The private link for submissions expires after three days.

Citizens should be aware that in order to access the Axon Citizen for Communities Portal, they must provide the HISD Police Department with their contact information, including their name, birth date, address, and phone number. The HISD Police Department may use the information for a variety of purposes, such as contacting the reporting citizen to answer any follow-up questions about the submission, or to establish the veracity of the submission. Any item they provide will remain property of HISD.

Community members are also encouraged to continue utilizing alternative reporting tools such as the Sandy Hook See Something Say Something application or calling the HISD PD 24-hour hotline at 713-892-7777.

For more information on the HISD Police Department visit www.houstonisd.org/police.