Plymouth-Canton Community Schools posted Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's annual school safety letter on its website Thursday, Sept. 3, as students returned for the new school year.

Worthy has sent the letter to all school districts in Wayne County at the start of every school year since 2018, Deadline Detroit reported. As of that outlet's December 2021 report, the letter was distributed in five languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, Bengali and Hmong.

The 2026 letter reiterates that Michigan law makes it a crime to make a school threat, even if the person making it did not have the intent or capability of carrying it out, and notes that school shooters have historically shared their plans with peers before acting. The letter also cites a law enacted last year making it a crime to threaten violence against students or employees on school property, alongside existing charges of False Threat of Terrorism or Threat of Terrorism — offenses that can carry sentences of 10 to 20 years in prison for an adult. Worthy's letter notes that many high school seniors are already 18 and legally adults under Michigan law, and warns that such charges can also cost students financial aid, scholarships or college admission, and must be disclosed on job applications. It urges parents to encourage children to report any threats they hear about, including those made on social media, texts or emails, stressing it's "always better to be safe than sorry."

The letter arrives as P-CCS operates an extensive security network across its 24 school buildings. The district runs a Security Operations Center that monitors cameras, 911 calls, gunshot detection and transportation GPS tracking, according to a presentation by Director of Safety and Security Josh Meier at the Jan. 13 Board of Education meeting.

The district has roughly 1,700 Avigilon security cameras with weapon detection and clothing recognition, according to The Perspective, a student newspaper at Plymouth-Canton Educational Park. P-CEP Safety and Security Manager Eric Kolke told the paper that 17 security guards work daytime hours, with additional afternoon and midnight shifts.

Kolke told The Perspective in June that when students report a classmate talking about a gun, security pulls the student in immediately to check. Such reports often turn out to be about video games, he said, but he wants students reporting them anyway. "Don't take it as nothing. We hear that all the time. 'We didn't think it was anything big.' Let us decide that," Kolke said.

The district also runs a K-9 safety program. A dog named Echo and handler Scott Hughesdon conduct school visits, assist in threat investigations and provide therapy support, according to the January board presentation. The district has trained building-level crisis response teams and uses threat assessment processes.

Canton Township Interim Police Chief Joseph Bialy told The Perspective that the department maintains joint communication with P-CCS schools, including an alert system for mutual aid and emergency operation plans for critical incidents.

No statement from Worthy's office specific to the 2026 letter was available in public records as of Sept. 4.