Reported local of incidents of “swatting” — in which people place false emergency calls claiming a serious crime has occurred in order to prompt an overwhelming police response — are despicable acts that should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
In fact, this trend is ominous enough that we see a need for federal prosecution when suspects can be identified. The risks to the public and to law enforcement from swatting are undeniable. People have died as a result of someone’s dangerous prank.
As The Republic reported, Paul Hoffman of Columbus, who has been a candidate for city and county offices in recent years, and his family were victims of an apparent swatting call, Columbus police reported.
Fortunately, the Hoffmans were not at home on the evening of Dec. 27, when an unknown caller falsely claimed that someone had killed a woman and was holding a man hostage at a residence on Chandler Lane, officials said. The caller also claimed to be armed with an assault rifle.
A local 911 dispatcher took this call. None of it was true. Nevertheless, law enforcement must take these calls at face value and presume the callers are being honest and acting in good faith.
Likewise, law enforcement is trained to respond proportionally to the perceived threat. They did so in this case, mobilizing with a substantial response. No one was hurt, thankfully, but this was a tremendous waste of resources, which were diverted from other real emergencies.
This wasn’t the first time this year that a swatting incident took place in Columbus. As The Republic’s Andy East reported, Columbus police six months earlier received a report of someone being shot at another local residence. When officers arrived on the scene, they briefly detained a juvenile, who they now believe was the victim of swatting following an argument related to an online video game.
“We believe that it possibly involved an argument over or during an online video game,” CPD Lt. Matt Harris said. “We’ve seen this in other communities where younger persons are playing video games online, and a disagreement or something occurs, and then swatting taking place after that.”
Gamers and hackers have been notorious instigators of swatting incidents, and the number of swatting cases nationally is dumbfounding. The Anti-Defamation League estimates that by 2019 there were more than 1,000 swatting incidents each year in the United States.
“People might think that it’s a joke or a prank, when in reality, the officers are responding (with) lights and sirens, which can be dangerous, driving quickly to a scene,” Harris said. “It takes away police resources. They could be handling other types of calls. And obviously, when we get a call like this, with a report of somebody is shot or there has been a homicide, it’s going to be a very large law enforcement response. … It’s definitely not a joke.”
We don’t expect swatting to cease, much as we wish it would, because people who would do such a thing are unburdened by conscience.
This is clearly a problem that requires a strong federal response to focus technology to better track 911 and emergency calls so that those who place them can no longer hide.
It needs to be game over for swatting.
