Penalties Upgraded in 'Swatting' Incidents

Whoever is responsible for two rashes of ‘swatting incidents’ in Princeton this year will have more severe penalties awaiting them should they ever get caught.

Gov. Chris Christie signed into law legislation that establishes ‘swatting’ as a second degree offense, increasing prison time and fines for committing the crime, on Monday.

Bill S-3011/A4375 call for 5 to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $150,000 for anyone who falsely report an impending catastrophe, such as a hostage situation or bomb threat. Convicted individuals may also be assessed a civil penalty of $2,000 or the actual costs incurred by law enforcement and emergency services that respond to the false alarm.

“Children and teachers in Princeton have fallen victim to swatting nearly a dozen times this year, as police and K9 units combed the halls,” said Senator Christopher “Kip” Bateman (R-Somerset), who co-sponsored the Senate side of the bill with Senator Jeff Van Drew (D-Atlantic/Cape May/Cumberland) and Senator Nellie Pou (D-Bergen/Passaic). “Robert Wood Johnson Hospital was forced to close their emergency room due to a false bomb threat that put patients at risk. These are just a handful of examples of the catastrophic consequences of swatting. Signing this bill into law sends a strong message that we will not tolerate these acts of terror. I thank the Governor and my colleagues in the Senate and Assembly for supporting this lifesaving effort to end swatting in New Jersey.”

“Emergency responders must and do respond to every potential threat to public safety,” said Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R-Somerset/Hunterdon/Mercer/Middlesex), who co-sponsored the Assembly bill with the Assembly Democrats. “They arrive at the scene prepared for any situation. Swatting calls are occurring far too often and are a threat to public safety.

“Schools, malls and private residences are the targets of misguided people who think this is a harmless prank. Unnecessarily deploying emergency responders diverts critically important resources from responding to a real emergency. Time spent verifying a false alarm and the diversion of manpower is a real danger.”

Princeton is in the midst of its second round of ‘swatting’ incidents this year, and Princeton Police believe whoever is responsible for the current round of calls is different than the ones experienced this spring.

Calls in the spring were done using a pre-recorded message, while recent calls have been “more interactive,” with the caller using a voice synthesiser.

Police believe the most recent incidents come from members of the online gaming community, who are playing a game in which they score points for the amount of havoc they cause.

There have been incidents this spring at Johnson Park Elementary School, John Witherspoon School, Princeton High School and Riverside Elementary School.

Each of those incidents, as well as a rash of ‘swatting’ incidents that plagued the town earlier this year, were all determined to be unfounded.