Police Liaison Group - Schools Unite Network

What is SUN?	SUN is an active, informed Internet communications network activated to spot signs of trouble concerning children. SUN provides information to the appropriate decision makers at the NYPD in near real time, and reports back to school and community stakeholders with actions taken, or to be taken. In addition, SUN provides safety tips and resources in its SUN alerts and on its website. Through a collaborative effort, requiring the vigilance of parents, school administrators, and community members, SUN not only ferrets out information, but also rapidly relays credible communications to parents and school administrators, a valuable component in reducing panic during an emergency. SUN was activated by the Police Liaison Group, Inc., a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization, in cooperation with the New York City Police Department’s Division of School Safety in Manhattan North, which extends from 59th Street to the northern tip of Manhattan. SUN is specifically designed to: promote school safety; reduce and prevent criminal activity involving juveniles; assist in preventing delinquency by directing juveniles with substance abuse, physical abuse and other major hardships to the proper resources; turn the lives of young people around who have engaged in criminal activity, through the collaborative oversight and intervention of the police, juvenile probation and other city agencies and nonprofit organizations.
How Does SUN Work?	In cooperation with the NYPD and other agencies, SUN transmits information to its subscribers and receives reports from school administrators, parents, community members, non-profits and other organizations which are rapidly relayed to the appropriate people in the NYPD for their action and assistance when applicable.
What Kind of Information Do I Send to SUN and How Do I Submit It?	You submit your concerns to SUN by E-Mail, or through SUN’s website, in the form of verified or unverified reports. Please be as descriptive as possible in your reporting. The more specific your information is, the better SUN’s follow up will be. Reports may be sent anonymously to SUN by omitting your personal information on the "Report An Incident" form.
What Happens to My Reports Once I Submit Them to SUN?	Your submissions are immediately shared with the appropriate people in the police department. The reported concerns are then acted upon as quickly as possible by the “SUN” community which consists of the police department, Police Liaison Group, and any other necessary agencies, such as NYC’s Corporation Counsel, the Manhattan District Attorney, and Juvenile Probation.
What Does SUN Send To Me?	The Police Liaison Group disseminates current and timely information to you through SUN E-Mails, when you subscribe; or you can receive this information by clicking on the News and Special Alert heading at the top of the home page of this website.
Where Does SUN’s Information Originate?	The information is provided by the police, Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, and other agencies; it is then synthesized and sent to you.
How Do I Know the Information I’m Receiving from SUN is Accurate?	The police and other agencies send information to the Police Liaison Group in different forms-sometimes through the Internet, sometimes in the form of a handwritten police report, other times the Manhattan District Attorney may send the Police Liaison Group a type written memo on a pending case. In other situations, information may be relayed over the telephone. The Police Liaison Group then synthesizes the information provided, writes a report, and confirms its accuracy with the agency providing the information. If there are changes which the agency makes at that time, the Police Liaison Group will incorporate them into its report, and again have its content checked for accuracy before releasing it as a SUN Communication. We all do our utmost to ensure the accuracy of information disseminated to the public. Still, there are no guarantees that the information will always be accurate in all of the SUN E-Mails we transmit. Please see Our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions and Use.
How Will I Know When I’m Receiving an Important E-Mail from SUN?	Every SUN E-Mail will have one of the following designations in your Subject Box: SUN SPECIAL ALERT SUN Communication SUN Request for Information SUN Unverified Report-Discretion Advised
What Do These Designations Mean?	SUN SPECIAL ALERTS describe precautions the police deem necessary for schools and parents to take in a given emergency. Should emergency procedures be put into effect, when you receive an E-mail, the words “SUN SPECIAL ALERT” will appear in your Subject Box. If you log onto the SUNnyc.org website, when a Special Alert is issued, the News and Special Alert Heading will be flashing. These communications will provide special instructions regarding what to do in the event of an area, city or national emergency. SUN Communications describe police actions taken to prevent or solve a crime. They include arrests made where SUN participants are often instrumental in providing leads. These communications also help form stronger bonds between the police and community by the School Heads, parents, community organizations and other agencies recognizing what our School Safety Officers, Precincts, and Task Forces are doing to protect your children. In addition, SUN Communications explain the benefits of certain police initiatives, as truancy sweeps; provide information regarding the disposition of cases concerning juveniles, as those which lead to prosecutions in Manhattan’s Criminal Court; and provide valuable community resources. SUN Requests for Information are sent when SUN receives unverified reports, often from you, in which the police and other agencies are unable to obtain enough information to follow through. If the police think a report warrants further investigation, and they need to obtain additional information, SUN will issue a request to see if you can provide us with further leads. As mentioned above, if there is certain information you wish to provide to SUN anonymously, you can always do so by sending a SUN Incident Report through our website, without providing any personal information on the reporting form. SUN Unverified Report-Discretion Advised can also be provided to the Heads of Schools, Directors of Security, and Parent Leadership. School Security and parents are required to obtain their school administration’s approval to receive these reports via e-mail. Often times we receive submissions in the form of unverified reports. On some occasions the information cannot be confirmed by the police or other organizations. Though SUN does not make unverified reports available to the general public, under certain circumstances, SUN makes unverified information available to responsible parent leadership and school security. The Parents’ Association President, in cooperation with their school’s Board of Directors, School Head, and Director of Security can then determine if they wish to disseminate this information to other parents within their school community; alert their security guards and safety patrols; or just maintain their normal level of school security. These transmissions from SUN will never divulge internal problems of your school, or of another school. They will include unverified activity on the street concerning alleged pedophilia, gang activity, drug dealing, crimes on the subway, and even dangerous activity on the Internet that SUN thinks you may wish to address. It is totally up to discretion of the Parents Association leadership, your school’s Board of Directors, and your school administration, to determine whether or not it would be beneficial to your school community to circulate this particular information. The Head of School, Parent Leadership, and your school’s Board of Directors should read and be familiar with Our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions and Use which govern the transmissions of all of our E-Mails and activities associated with our Site.
What Special Services Are Provided To Heads of Schools?	In addition to receiving the above information, School Heads have the option of receiving confidential reports pertaining to safety and quality of life activity involving your students and the area around your school. School Heads, can then determine with SUN, the most effective means of addressing an issue to prevent a negative outcome or full-blown situation. The Head of School and your school’s Board of Directors should read and be familiar with Our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions and Use which govern the transmissions of all of our E-Mails and activities associated with our Site.
When Do I Receive SUN Communications?	Regular SUN transmissions are disseminated Mondays and Thursdays of each week, when school is in session, from September to the end of June, with the exception, of course, of a Special Alert, which may be issued at anytime. Since it is not our intention to flood your E-Mails with unwanted information, if there is no news to report in a given week, you simply will not receive a transmission. However, should you sign up to receive E-Mails from SUN and do not receive any communications for several weeks, please notify SUN promptly so we can immediately repair any bug in our system.
Is My Personal Information Confidential?	Yes, the personal information you share with SUN stays with SUN. It is shared with the NYPD only with your consent, unless it must be used to protect the safety and well-being of a child or a participant in SUN. SUN takes privacy issues seriously. Please review our Privacy Policy for further details.
How will I know what Schools and other institutions are participating in SUN?	Participating institutions are listed on ourn our website.
How many participants are in SUN today?	Today SUN has thousands of participants, which include school administrators, security directors, parents, community members, many individuals at the NYPD and other governmental and nongovernmental agencies… But that is not enough, SUN is seeking the participation of every parent, and every staff member, from every school. We know that the more schools and parents who sign up to participate in SUN, the safer our children and community will be.