The B.C. government has released a new set of guidelines in a bid to improve the partnerships between schools and the police.

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says the guidelines are aimed at keeping young people in the province away from a gang lifestyle.

He says it will also proactively help identify risks, and also guide interventions and provide supports for students when they need it the most.

“It’s one that requires a commitment to collaboration, cooperation, and effective communication,” Farnworth said. “In fact, BC is the only province in Canada with a provincial strategy for addressing and responding to threat related behaviours in schools.”

The new guidelines expand provincial ERASE (Expect Respect and a Safe Education) strategy that was launched in 2012. It has been expanded to include school-based gang prevention initiatives and mental wellness programs for students, parents and educators.

Education Minister Rob Fleming says student safety is their number one priority, and he says the province has worked together with community partners as well as partners in education, and law enforcement .

“Our world is changing, we have student safety issues that are becoming increasingly complex,” Fleming said. “We have technology and social media platforms that allow threats to be made in ways that were technologically impossible a few short years ago, and that’s why I am proud of our continued focus on collaboration.”

The province says this was a joint project with police departments in Abbotsford, Nelson, Victoria, as well as the Surrey RCMP and ‘E’ Division and the North American Centre for Threat Assessment and Trauma Response. Other partners were the Kootenay Lake and Vancouver school districts.

The guidelines were developed with a $1.12 million investment from the province that was announced in March, and more online resources are expected in 2020.