Senator Walczyk advocates legislation to swat back against ‘swatting’

ALBANY, NY- As schools statewide and close to home continue their battle with ‘swatting,’ lawmakers in the state legislature are rallying for measures to make this disturbing hoax a felony.

Again, swatting is a term used to reference an attempt to bring about a large dispatch of heavily armed law enforcement to a predetermined address or location.

Schools have been a target of swatting recently, including hoax calls and emails over bomb threats and active shooters. "Heightened penalties on these egregious acts will open up tools for law enforcement to gather and prosecute the bad actors,” said Senator Mark Walczyk.

“I look forward to working with the Governor and partners in the Senate and the Assembly to finally get this bill done."

According to Walczyk’s office, this bill, which has been introduced in both the Senate and Assembly, will strongly increase the penalty for these harmful acts and in turn deter swatting from occurring.

Passing this bill will be a huge win for public schools who have witnessed an onslaught of these attacks in recent weeks, along with local law enforcement who have had to take resources away from the public in order to respond in full strength to these terrifying calls, Walczyk emphasized.

Image via the office of New York State Senator Mark Walczyk.