Set a Base Punishment for Swatting

Swatting by definition 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. However the result of these “prank calls” are far from a joke. While these calls can end harmlessly they can also end with serious repercussions. These “pranks have wound up sometimes even resulting in death. The most recent big case of swatting that has sparked conversation about swatting was the death of Andrew Finch in Kansas City. “The LAPD took Tyler Barriss of Los Angeles into custody in that city on Friday afternoon, on a fugitive warrant stemming from the Thursday evening incident in Kansas, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department said.” (Blankenstein) While he has been detained for this “prank” here is the problem. There is no base punishment for swatting. There needs to be a baseline punishment set for this crime, just like any other crime such as manslaughter there needs to be a set punishment for the act of swatting. “The FBI estimates that roughly 400 cases of swatting occur annually, with some using caller ID spoofing to disguise their number. An FBI supervisor in Kansas City, Missouri, which covers all of Kansas, said the agency joined in the investigation at the request of local police.” (Blankenstein) 400 cases a year and no set punishment, some people come out of court from these cases with only a few months in jail (when less serious things happen during the swatting, but this is not ok and it needs to be changed.