State Lawmakers Hope Tougher SWATting Laws Lead to Arrests in Prank Call Cases
Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 -- 12:48 PM
(WRN) -State lawmakers are hoping new laws toughening the punishment for making phony emergency calls will dissuade people from engaging in the prank.State lawmakers are hoping their new law that toughens up the penalties for SWATting, or making fake calls to bring out special response teams, will discourage people from doing it. State representative Tyler Vorpagel says this is a young person's crime, but with deadly serious repercussions.
"We see it a lot with gaming, with online things like that, so it's really something that's being done by a much younger people."
A Wausau area police department is dealing with a fresh case of SWATting. Vorpagel says that while the tactic isn't new, the way that it's being used against innocent people is alarming.
"People don't even know that it's happening, and they're really just true bystanders in the whole thing."
State senator Robert Cowles says this is used as a form of harassment just as much as being a prank.
"There's a danger to the person that's suddenly being visited by the emergency personnel, the SWAT team, and there's nothing happening, really."
Cowles says the new law makes SWATting a felony with a stiff penalty.
"We moved it from a misdemeanor to three and a half years prison or a 10-thousand dollar fine at the discretion of a judge."
Being convicted of SWATting under the new law means the suspect could go to prison for at least 3 years and pay a 10-thousand dollar fine. There's also a chance of being liable for the cost of the emergency response.
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