It’s far more than just a prank.
The significant police presence in a north Okotoks neighbourhood last week prompted many in town to openly wonder what kind of incident would require that level of response. Was it a shooting, a hostage taking, a bomb threat?
It turned out to be none of the above. In fact, it was nothing at all as the call that brought scores of heavily-armed officers to the area around 32 Street and Crystal Green Way was a hoax, another in a long line of ‘swatting’ incidents, so named because the nature of the prank call is serious enough that a SWAT team is often called out to deal with the alleged situation.
In the Okotoks case, police haven’t disclosed the nature or origin of the threat, but it’s a safe bet to assume the caller concocted a crime in progress that was so significant that it warranted bringing in officers from several neighbouring jurisdictions.
This isn’t a harmless prank, but rather a malicious act, one that not only wastes police resources that could be utilized elsewhere, but causes stress and poses a potential danger to those inside the home. Last week’s incident also inconvenienced a neighbourhood and closed a major north-south thoroughfare.
Thankfully, police dealt with the situation appropriately, quickly determining it was a hoax, so damage was limited to the disruption the incident caused, but that positive outcome shouldn’t get the perpetrator off the hook. Police have launched a public mischief investigation so hopefully the person responsible is found and held accountable.
Creating a highly-charged situation, one that has the ability to turn tragic, is incredibly irresponsible and must be treated seriously by our justice system. Swatting is a calculated abuse of our emergency response system, often perpetrated as some sort of retribution, but the only punishment that should be meted out here is to the person culpable for such idiocy.
