Page 6 - Security Today, March/April 2023

INDUSTRY FOCUS With Ralph C. Jensen, Editor-in-Chief
Swatting Games
aYre not Amusing
ou have noticed and read February, police in Saginaw Township, MI, the news, chaos and dis- rammed a cruiser through the locked front ruption, society veering doors at Nouvel Catholic Central High away from the norm. At School. Reportedly, two students shot. least the normal that was It boggles my mind what a person who
familiar to us. Without focusing on the makes this kind of call might be thinking. It
grim reality of mass shootings, there is an- other crazy thing happening.
Swatting. This is an act of creating a hoax 911 call, typically the caller reporting hostages, gunfire or other acts of extreme vi- olence. The goal is to divert law enforcement and emergency responders to a person’s resi- dence, or in some cases, a campus setting.
This act is deliberate, and is a malicious act that creates an atmosphere of fear and unnecessary risk. In fact, a responding law enforcement officer shot and killed an un- intended victim, all because of swatting.
It is not amusing.
There are laws and penalties, but swat- ting continues to be an issue. Law enforce- ment find it hard to enforce because swat- ters use sophisticated techniques to hide their identity. Often times, the swatter uses ID spoofing, using software to make it ap- pear that it is a local call, but they could be anywhere in the world.
Campus security is taking the larger portion of prank calls. Officers respond swiftly to a call from a campus. Once they arrive, it will be with guns drawn. In early
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reminds of some wayward student pulling the fire alarm, back in the day. It was not funny then, and it sure is not funny today.
“We cannot empower people like this, nor let them undermine the emotional well-being of our students and our team,” wrote Eric Swain, principal of Clovis West High School in Fresno, Calif., in a letter to parents, informing them that classes would continue after the school dealt with swatting calls Feb. 3 and 6.
Maine lawmakers are proposing that swatting be considered a felony if it leads to an evacuation, shutdown or lockdown. Last November there was a massive swat- ting hoax in the state that involved 16 communities, including Portland, all in- volving an active shooter. Not only is this a hoax situation, but students say that a fake threat does lead to fear that day, and days that follow. Swatting is not funny or amusing. It is stupid.
accuracy, there is no guarantee that the same or similar results may be achieved in all environments. Technical inaccuracies may result from print- ing errors and/or new developments in the industry.
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