CALDWELL, Idaho — Caldwell police are investigating a fake 911 call - with real consequences.
The Caldwell Police Department (CPD) responded to a call reporting a shooting that occurred on Cromwell Street in Caldwell. The call came in around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
CPD immediately responded, and upon arrival at the address, the residents of the home came out peacefully and there were no injuries.
What police at first believed to be a threat turned out to be a different kind of crime: swatting.
"Swatting" is when someone reports a false case of violence. The problem with swatting calls is that it drains community resources. By having officers go to the false scene, they are taken away from issues that could be real and more pressing.
"It's a huge strain," Caldwell Chief of Police Rex Ingram said. "You have at least 20 officers that are there being deployed, we call people in on overtime. We mobilized our SWAT team, we called Nampa PD's crisis negotiation team."
Swatting calls have been seen in other parts of the country. In the last year, several members of U.S. Congress have been the targets of swatting calls.
But those calls can happen to regular people, too. A 2019 report from the Anti-Defamation League estimated there were roughly 1,000 swatting incidents in the U.S. per year.
Last year, the FBI formed a national database to track and prevent swatting.
"These are not prank calls, this is a crime," Caldwell Chief of Police Rex Ingram said. "This is serious."
A serious crime - that could lead to serious jail time.
In 2022, a Kansas man was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in a fatal swatting call. The California man who made that call was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2019.
An investigation has begun to try to identify the person who made the call. CPD said any person deemed responsible for this kind of offense could face criminal charges and may have to pay restitution.
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