"S.W.A.T.-ing" is a Serious Crime

KSL CrimeWatch

Some teenagers recently have been "S.W.A.T.ing" along the Wasatch Front--making prank calls to emergency personnel to embarrass other people. Former Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder discusses one of the incidents, and the serious consequences that await people who knowingly fraud emergency services. *** In today’s age of rapid-fire multimedia and communication, there’s a new term that’s been evolving. The term is SWAT-ing—the practice of initiating a police response to an innocent location. Recently, the Unified Police Department responded to a bone-chilling report of shots fired at a local school. SWAT teams, K-9 units, and large numbers of patrol resources responded, only to learn that it was a hoax. It turns out that individuals had decided that it might be “fun” to have officers from multiple agencies descend on a high school in the middle of a day. Officers entered those high schools guns-drawn, prepared to encounter an active shooter, only to find out it was a fake report. It’s important in this day and age where 9-1-1 resources and public safety resources are so limited that individuals recognize that the malicious use of their communication devices is not a hoax—it’s a crime. Please respect 9-1-1 and public safety, and never engage in these behaviors.