Butler School District school police officer Jerry Markle talks to everyone entering the front of the Butler High School campus on Feb. 19. In response to a threat made on Facebook, school officials closed Campus Lane to through traffic during the school day.

Threaten to blow up a school, go to jail.

That’s the message Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger is hoping to send with a new policy his office put into place earlier this month.

Goldinger, in a letter sent to superintendents of the nine school districts in the county, wrote that he is frustrated that there is little he can do to prevent threats of shootings or bombs in or against schools.

“These threats are disruptive to teachers, students, administrators, parents and first responders who may be called out because of the threat,” he wrote.

In hopes of deterring young men and women from making such threats, Goldinger said his office will urge police to file charges as soon as possible in these cases and his office will pursue detention of the suspect, including juveniles and people facing only misdemeanor charges.

Goldinger, in an interview, said he wants students to see that these threats are taken seriously and “it was a joke” is not a valid excuse.

“I want the message sent and I want the kids to understand, if you’re under 18 and you do this, you’re going to be put in a juvenile facility. If you’re over 18, you’re going to jail,” he said.

Read more about this story in Tuesday’s Butler Eagle.