“Swatting” is no game in New Jersey
Posted June 8th, 2015 by Anthony Carbone, PC.
Categories: Legal Topics.
It’s becoming an epidemic in New Jersey. It seems like every week we hear in the news of another “swatting” incident. With the FBI now assisting local authorities in investigations, hopefully this prank will finally disappear.
What is swatting, anyway? It’s a prank where an anonymous caller will call emergency services and give a false report about a critical incident, such as a bomb in a building. The report will lead police and quite possibly SWAT units to evacuate unsuspecting businesses or school only to learn the report is a prank. It’s not only businesses or schools who have experienced the prank – there have been incidents of celebrities becoming victims of the hoax.
According to recent reports, there have been 38 incidents of swatting in New Jersey since 2014. The prank is now getting the attention of lawmakers – in April, swatting victim State Assemblyman Paul Moriarty began pushing legislation to stop the prank once and for all. According to Moriarty’s bill, the penalties for causing a false alarm would be upgraded from a third degree to a second degree crime and the punishments would be 5 to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $150,000.
Just how dangerous is this game? Very. Imagine sitting down to dinner with your family when all of a sudden the police are at the door with guns drawn. If you don’t know what’s going on, things can take a turn for the worse in a matter of seconds. So the best policy is don’t play the game.
If you are in need of legal assistance, contact the Law Offices of Anthony Carbone today for a free consultation.
