California lawmakers are pushing for tougher penalties against "swatting" - the dangerous practice of making hoax emergency calls to trigger massive law enforcement responses - as these incidents continue to terrorize schools, hospitals, and places of worship across the state.
Earlier this month, a fake 911 call about a bomb threat and hostage situation at Claremont McKenna College sparked panic among students and drew a major SWAT team deployment. Just one day prior, a similar hoax targeted Loma Linda University's Children's Hospital.
Current California law makes it difficult to prosecute these cases effectively. While falsely reporting emergencies to 911 is a misdemeanor, threats must target specific individuals rather than institutions to be considered criminal offenses - creating a significant legal loophole.
Two new bills aim to address this gap. Senate Bill 19, authored by Senator Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), would allow prosecution of credible mass violence threats against schools and places of worship, even without naming specific targets. A parallel measure, Assembly Bill 237 by Assemblymember Darshana R. Patel (D-San Diego), would extend similar protections to hospitals, day-care centers and workplaces.
The proposed legislation was partly inspired by a troubling case at Shoal Creek Elementary School in San Diego. Despite sending hundreds of threatening emails and possessing a gun and school map, a suspect initially avoided charges because his threats didn't name specific individuals.
The scale of the problem is substantial. The FBI reported investigating over 100 separate threats targeting more than 1,000 institutions across 42 states in just one month. Jewish facilities faced the most threats, followed by schools and hospitals.
Law enforcement faces major hurdles in catching perpetrators who use technology to mask their identities through voice alteration and phone number spoofing. Even when caught, current penalties may not reflect the serious disruption and trauma these incidents cause.
A recent case highlights both the severity of swatting and challenges in prosecution: A Lancaster teen received a four-year prison sentence for making over 375 hoax calls threatening bombings and mass shootings. However, many similar cases prove difficult to prosecute under existing state law.
As California legislators work to combine these proposed measures into comprehensive legislation, law enforcement and community leaders emphasize that stronger legal tools are needed to combat this growing threat to public safety and hold perpetrators accountable.