North Caldwell Warns Residents Of 'Swatting' Locally, And Kidnapping Abroad

NORTH CALDWELL, NJ — The mayor and council of North Caldwell included some alarming warnings in an otherwise routine message to residents this week about locking cars to avoid theft, describing two threats that are now on the rise — including "swatting" (which recently took place in both North Caldwell and Westfield) and possibly being kidnapped abroad.

"This past week our community experienced its first incident of 'swatting,' " said the letter to residents (posted in full below). The letter said the practice — calling a police department with false information to send SWAT teams to a local address — has been growing across the country, and the latest instance came from out of state.

In fact, last month, the Westfield Police Department received a similar call, causing them to alert the Springfield Police Department of a hostage situation that turned out to be false. READ MORE: Man Calls Westfield Police, Falsely Claims He Shot Father

With holidays and school vacations on the way, the police also warned residents of "radical groups" kidnapping Americans abroad and holding them for ransom.

For example, these two stories appeared in Patch just last month:

• Ransom Set For Kidnapped Missionary Group From Ohio
• Kidnapped Americans' Lives Hang In Balance In Haiti

Letter From North Caldwell Police

Dear Residents of North Caldwell,
We write this letter to you as a means to share several areas of concern regarding the safety of our community. First, we continue to see a growing number of car thefts in our town as well as from other surrounding municipalities. It is paramount to ensure you do not leave your keys in your car, regardless of the time of day. This is the primary reason related to these thefts. With the ease of the cars being stolen, this is increasing the incidents within our town as those committing these acts are becoming more brazen. This increase in the number of incidents is putting our residents and police officers’ safety at risk. Please, when you are not operating your vehicles, make sure they are locked and the keys are removed and secured in your house.
Second, this past week our community experienced its first incident of “swatting”. Swatting is the action or practice of making a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of armed police officers to a particular address. In the case which took place in our community, the North Caldwell Police Department acted accordingly to confirm this was a false report. Through the initial investigation, all facts indicate the call was made from outside the state. In addition, information reveals there were similar instances reported throughout the United States on or about the same time of the incident which was called into the North Caldwell Police Department. We, as a governing body, condemn these actions by those involved and will pursue legal action to the fullest extent of the law should those committing this act be found.
Lastly, when traveling abroad, please be sure to take all safety precautions necessary to protect your wellbeing. As we have seen, citizens of the United States are targeted by radical groups to be kidnapped and held for ransom. When traveling outside the United States, it’s important to be aware of your surroundings and not make yourself an easy target.

Mayor Joseph H. Alessi
Council President Frank Astorino
Councilman Matt Atlas
Councilman Anthony Floria-Callori
Councilman Bob Kessler
Councilman Art Rees
Councilman Ken Tilton

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