Swatting: Grave and Costly Concern in Monmouth County

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Lawmakers in Trenton and Monmouth County law enforcement officers are not amused by the rash of prank reports that have tied up law enforcement resources and can place the public on edge – and possibly in danger.
In response to the trend of false reports of emergency situations the state Assembly late last week passed a bill that would make these false alarms a more serious crime with more severe penalties. The bill has yet to be taken up by the Senate.
On a more local level, just since March there have been 38 incidents in Monmouth County.
“It’s a burden on any department. I don’t care what size they are,” said Little Silver Police Chief Daniel Shaffery.
“It upsets people in the facilities,” too, disrupting schools, offices and retail businesses that are the victims of the hoaxes, said Red Bank Police Chief Darren McConnell.
In addition to the legislation, Monmouth County Crime Stoppers, an independent group that works with law enforcement encouraging the public to offer leads on crimes and criminals, announced it is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to the identification, arrest and prosecution of culprits.
Under current law this type of offense is classified as a third degree crime, punishable by a three-to-five year prison term and/or a maximum fine of $15,000.
This bill would increase the penalty to a five–to-10-year prison sentence, with a fine of as much as $150,000.
New Jersey is not unique in experiencing a rise in what is referred to as “swatting” – the false reports of bombs or individuals with weapons, that require an immediate and an aggressive response from authorities, often directing resources to evacuate facilities and conduct-time consuming full-scale searches.
“We’re seeing an increase of this across the country, not just in Monmouth County,” said Charles Webster, a spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, pointing out that a bomb threat earlier last week at the White House, in Washington, D.C., had authorities evacuate portions of it. That same day, U.S. Capitol Police responded to a phone threat that a bomb had been placed in the Dirksen Senate of office complex, forcing an evacuation of portions of it.
Monmouth County particularly has seen a precipitous spike in reports, however.
“This isn’t a joke, nobody is laughing,” Webster stressed. “This is creating grave concerns for a lot of people needlessly.”
“These things cost thousands of dollars and many man-hours,” he stressed. “These things tax our resources, they really do.”
“At this point we could call it a crime wave,” observed Monmouth County state Assemblywoman Amy Handlin.
Handlin, a Republican representing the 13th legislative district, co-sponsored bill 4375 increasing the penalties, which the Assembly passed on June 11 by a 74-0 vote.
“We need to try and put a stop to it or at least reduce the incidents of it,” Handlin believes.
On June 1 false bomb threats were reported for the Monmouth Mall, in Eatontown, and the Freehold Raceway Mall. The calls came in at almost the same time, said Eatontown Det. Lt. Larry Tyler. With two potentially life-threatening situations occurring practically simultaneously there could have been a strain on available emergency services. “Something like that is draining,” Tyler said. In Monmouth Mall’s case, based upon the recommendation of the property owners and the police’s determination, county services were not brought in but a portion of the mall was emptied and searched, requiring all five officers from the department’s patrol squad and mall security to search the location.
In Freehold “a lot of resources were pulled there,” including county bomb-sniffing police dogs and other support, according to Tyler.
The problem is with these reports, “You have to treat everything as if it’s real,” until you can be sure. At the same time, “You still have to give some attention to other calls,” Tyler continued. “You have to make sure your resources are able to respond to everything else that’s going on at that time.”
And that means relying on mutual aid agreements with other local and county departments, causing a domino effect.
While usually these incidents are local matters, on occasion the FBI assists, explained Celeste Danzi, a spokeswoman for the FBI Newark Field office. While prank phone reports have probably been around as long as there have been telephones, the federal input helps locals investigate what has become an increasingly complex task to track down perpetrators, given rapidly advancing telecommunication technology.
Danzi acknowledged it can be a difficult crime to prosecute, especially when isn’t an actual traceable device and given that there currently is no federal anti-swatting statute, complicating investigations across state lines.
Another complication is that in general these culprits tend to be younger than 18, she also noted.
“The reality is it’s just as serious regardless of who commits it,” even though some young people may actually see it “as a really cool thing to do,” Handlin offered, believing the more severe penalties are warranted.
“We need to find ways to reduce the incentives to do it,” dissuading whatever vicarious thrill they may derive from it, she said.
The term “swatting” dates back to 2008, referring to the dispatching of emergency services, such as SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) teams, in response to the false reports, according Danzi.

John Burton can be reached at jburton@tworivertimes.com

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