NEWS RELEASE

Date: Thursday, November 3, 2022.

Reference: CyberSwat Program implementation by the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office.

In a continuing effort to constantly be proactive in protecting our schools, the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office is teaming with Safesurfin.org to introduce “CyberSwat.” This cyber-safety program will be in the three high schools our agency provides School Resource Officers (SRO) to; Lake Norman, West Iredell, and North Iredell. We are the first law enforcement agency in North Carolina to implement CyberSwat.

This program is designed to be taught by students to students. Each school group will act as a club, overseen by the School Resource Officer at the school, and the students will lead. Safe Surfin’, designers of this program, along with our deputies, realize young people learn better when spoken to and taught by their age-related peers. 

Some of the courses this program teaches include cyberbullying, online predators, human trafficking, and other online risks teenagers and pre-teens regularly face. Peer-to-peer student mentors then reach out to younger students to share what they have learned and present projects they have created to teach lessons about online safety and risks on the Internet.

Sheriff Campbell wants to thank Retired Sheriff Mike Brown, founder of the Safe Surfin’ Foundation, for making this program available to us. 

Sheriff Campbell also wanted to thank Iredell-Statesville Schools Superintendent Dr. Jeff James, High School Principals Bill Shapcott, Ellyn Gaither, and Diana Jones for allowing us in their schools and giving this program Club status. This is very important so that CyberSwat members can receive hours toward their college applications.

By bringing awareness to the dangers of the Internet and providing a platform for students to research and bring their results and data forward, we can make our students safer by making them more aware of the hazards online.

Any questions can be answered by Sheriff Campbell, Sheriff Brown, or Eddie Worth, President of Safe Surfin'.